


What was Once Lost is Found

by RivanWarrioress



Series: What was Once Lost is Found [1]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, NCIS
Genre: F/M, Gen, Long Lost/Secret Relatives, Mild Language, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-09
Updated: 2012-12-14
Packaged: 2017-11-20 16:29:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 45
Words: 103,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/587427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RivanWarrioress/pseuds/RivanWarrioress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Jethro Gibbs discovers that his unborn child survived the accident that killed her mother and sister, and was adopted out without his knowledge, he takes his team and heads to a town called Sunnydale to track her down. Her Name? Willow Rosenberg.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue:  28 Feb 1991

Shannon Gibbs was scared. No, strike that, she was terrified. Scared was when Jethro shipped out with the marines for months on end fighting in a war that was so far away. Terrified was when she and Kelly had been taking a nice walk through the park and witnessing a drug dealing exchange occurring, which had turned into a murder, and she'd done the right thing and reported it to the local police, whom, upon hearing that her husband was a marine, had shipped her and Kelly off to the Navy yard, and to a organisation known as NIS. They'd put her and Kelly into protective custody, and taken them to a safe house. Now, two days later, they'd been told that they were being moved again, and that there would be two NIS agents riding in the car with them. And, to top it off, Jethro was off with the marines, and had been for two months, fighting in a war that was so far away

Shannon sat in the front passenger seat of the car, and turned so she could see Kelly in the back seat, beside one of the NIS agents. The other would be driving. Kelly smiled back at Shannon, and proceeded to tell the NIS agent about when Jethro had taken both his girls horse riding on the beach. Shannon smiled at the memory, and turned back to the front, resting her hand on her swollen stomach.

She and Jethro had always thought that Kelly would be an only child, as the pregnancy had been difficult, so when she had found out that she was pregnant again; it had come as a shock. This pregnancy had been complication free, which had led to Jethro joking that it must be a boy. Shannon, however, had a gut feeling that it was another girl. It would be month and a half before they would be finding out, when the baby was born, but Shannon had always trusted her gut, especially after she had met Jethro.

The Second NIS agent, the one that would be driving, got into the car and caught Shannon's eye.

"You all right, ma'am?" He asked politely. Shannon smiled and nodded, rubbing her stomach soothingly as the baby kicked at her from within.

"Yes, I'm fine. Baby's just kicking a bit, it likes to do that."

The agent chuckled, "My mom always said that I would grow up to be a professional footballer because I practiced kicking so much on the inside."

Shannon laughed good naturedly. Both the agents that were protecting her were young, and yet still seemed wise and mature beyond their years, scarred mentally by too many horrible cases of death, torture, and destruction. Despite their age, they were experienced agents. Shannon had become very maternal over them from the moment that she had met the young pair, and over the last two days, it had been like a weight had been lifted off the two young men's shoulders. Though still very formal, they had become more youthful and chatty as time had gone on, much to Shannon's pleasure. She hated seeing children, or young people in general, being thrust into situations that forced them to act in a way that required them to deny their youths and 'grow up.'

The agent started the car, and they pulled out of the driveway of the safe house, Kelly still chattering away in the back seat. Shannon exhaled, forcing herself to relax. Yesterday she had been told that Jethro was going to be notified about the situation, and be brought home, and she had thanked God for that. Everything would be better once Jethro made it home, he'd make everything better and look after her and Kelly, and he'd be there and hold her hand when the baby was born, and everything would be alright.

Shannon watched as the scenery passed by as they drove through the suburban streets. She found herself thinking of the discussion she and Jethro had shared when they had discussed names. What had been a very long and drawn out process when it had come to Kelly, had been a short and easy discussion this time around. Jethro's best friend and fellow Gunnery Sergeant had died the previous year, and if the baby was a boy he would be named William Jethro Gibbs after him (Shannon had been adamant on the middle name, because Kelly's middle name was Shannon.) The girl's name had been slightly more difficult, but they had decided on Willow Danielle Gibbs. Willows were Shannon's favourite type of tree; she thought they were so graceful and beautiful, while Danielle had been the name of Jethro's mother. Shannon closed her eyes and imagined writing out Christmas cards, with Kelly beside her as chief stamp licker, and a baby snuggled up against her She imagined writing 'Merry Christmas and best wishes for the new year, lots of love from Jethro, Shannon, Kelly, and Willow Gibbs.'

"Mommy, Nathan says that we can stop and have Pizza for lunch. Is that okay?" Kelly piped up from the back seat. Shannon turned as far as her swollen belly and the seat belt would allow.

"Of course it is, Sweetie." She smiled at the young NIS agent who had introduced himself as Nathan. His spiky, unkempt blonde hair made Shannon's finger itch for a comb.

Shannon figured the baby must have liked the idea of Pizza, because it gave a sudden kick. She smiled. The only problem with her pregnancy this time around had been the morning sickness, or rather, severe all day sickness that had plagued her from the six week mark, right through until only a month ago. Jethro had taken her to hospital four times in that period of time, fearful that something bad was going to happen.

At the though of her morning sickness, Shannon felt something in her stomach, and tensed, fearful that the vomiting was once again about to make a reappearance, before she realised that it wasn't a nauseous feeling, but just a feeling. She instantly thought of Jethro's gut feelings, famous among the entire Marine Corps, and realised that her own gut was trying to tell her something.

Something was about to happen; something bad.

Shannon turned to face the front as they stopped at an intersection, before they accelerated off again. She noticed the car parked on the other side of the street, with the window rolled the whole way down, despite the freezing cold conditions. She could tell, by the narrowing of their eyes, that both the NIS agents noticed the car as well, but before any of them could say anything, all hell broke loose.

The NIS agent that was driving, Damien, planted his foot on the accelerator to get past the car, and the car that they were riding in responded, speeding up rapidly. Shannon held her breath as the car drew closer and closer. Inside the other car, a masked man smirked and aimed his rife, firing off one well timed shot. It was all that was needed. Shannon felt the car she was riding in lurch as it hit a icy patch on the road, and glanced across at Damien, hoping he could control the car as it jack-knifed and spun out dangerously, but one look told Shannon that Damien could do nothing to prevent their car crashing, the single bullet hole in his forehead telling her that they were going to die. She looked beyond Damien, through the driver's side window, and seeing a large tree trunk rushing up to meet them. At the last moment she braced, hearing Kelly's fear filled scream, before darkness overcome her.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

The next time Shannon regained consciousness, all she could feel was pain. She could feel it radiating from every part of her body. She screwed her eyes shut against it, and whimpered

"Jethro."

"Ma'am? Can you hear me?"

"Mmm" Shannon could feel someone clutching her hand, and she weakly cracked her eyes open to see who was clasping it so tightly. The person looked down at her from where they stood, and Shannon became aware that she was lying on a stretcher. The memories came flooding back. The drug exchange that became a murder, the NIS, the safe house, Kelly in the car talking about Pizza, a gunshot, the ice on the road, the tree trunk, nothingness.

"K…Kelly" She croaked out weakly.

"Is that your daughter's name?" the woman asked, and Shannon realised that she was a paramedic. Shannon weakly and slowly nodded.

"We're still trying to get her out of the car, Ma'am, but she's in good hands."

"The others?" Shannon gasped, fear clouding her eyes. She remembered the hole in Damien's head, slowly leaking blood.

"One of the men in the car with you is currently being rushed to hospital. The other has a gunshot wound to the forehead, and was dead on arrival

Shannon weakly nodded again.

"My baby?"

"We're going to do everything we can to save it, but, Ma'am, you are very badly injured. You have a serious head injury, and most of your ribs are broken on one side. We suspect you also have numerous internal bleeds."

"You have to save my baby." Shannon said, her head getting fuzzy. She could hear voices in the background, and turned her head slightly so that she could see. What she saw almost made her throw up. She could see the car she had been travelling in. The entire driver's side was wrapped around the tree trunk, and a thick branch had broken off during the collision, landing on and crumpling the car's roof. She could see where the recue crews had cut into the wreck to get the victims out, and could see a cluster of people standing around where they were trying to save Kelly. She could hear them calling out things, and then she felt her hear freeze up as she caught sight of her precious little girl as she was finally pulled from the wreckage, she was drenched in blood, and at the same time, white as marble. She was lain out on the ground, and paramedics swamped over to her yelling things that Shannon didn't understand.

And certain things that she understood perfectly well.

"She's not breathing…"

'I've got no pulse…"

"Charging to 200…clear."

"Negative on the pulse, resume compressions."

"Charging to 250… clear."

"Still nothing."

"Charging to 350… clear."

"No, no no no, no," murmured Shannon, tears leaking from her eyes as she listened to the people trying to bring life back into the body of her little girl. She began to struggle weakly, and the paramedic that had been holding her hand gently was forced to hold her down by the shoulders. Every movement she made caused agony to wash over her body, but Shannon didn't care. All that mattered was Kelly, Jethro's Kelly. Shannon didn't feel something shift within her, nor the stabbing pain down her right side. She coughed, and she felt something run down her chin.

"Oh God, we need help over here now, I think she just perforated her lung with a rib."

"Ma'am, you need to lay still."

"No, no, not my baby, not my baby girl. Kelly!"

"There's nothing you can do for her, ma'am, think of your baby, the one that's still inside you, the one that needs you to live." Another voice came, and Shannon forced herself to relax. If she died, then her little baby would die. Her Willow (or William, if Jethro was to be believed)

"You need to save it," Shannon sobbed, feeling her strength fading.

"Stay with me ma'am; don't go to sleep quite yet."

"If it comes to me or it, choose it. Jethro needs something to hang onto. He'd be devastated if he lost everything at once."

"Ma'am, don't let go, we just need to load you in to an ambulance, and then you'll be on your way to hospital."

Shannon blinked tiredly, and felt the darkness creeping up on her. In her gut, she knew she'd never wake up again.

"Tell Jethro I love him, and that Kelly does to, and that our baby is my last gift to him. For a boy, William Jethro, for a girl, Willow Danielle."

And with that, Shannon Gibbs closed her eyes and succumbed to the darkness.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Dr. Harold Spinner was a seasoned surgeon of many years, and he was dedicated to his job. The only thing he loved more than helping people and treating their illness or injury was his family. His wife, daughter, and little grand daughter. He looked forward to the end of every day when he would go home to his house and get to cosy up with his wife on the couch, while his little grand daughter, Amy, would chatter to them about what she had been up to at school. The only thing missing was his beloved daughter, who shut herself up in her room, to distraught to come and socialise ever since her husband's death. Harold had never approved of his son in law. Why couldn't his little girl have fallen for someone who had a normal job, like a doctor, or a businessman, or an accountant, for Pete's sake? Anything but a Marine.

But she had. Private Orlando Peters had waltzed into his daughter's perfect life and swept her off her feet. Harold had disapproved, but after a razing row with his daughter, his princess, he'd kept his silence. Walking her down the aisle to that bastard marine, looking oh so smug in his uniform, had nearly made him revoke his consent and drag her out of the church, but no, he'd looked at his princesses face, and he'd known that she was in love, and that he couldn't do a thing to stop it happening without risking loosing her forever.

So he'd walked her up the aisle, and watched as they were married, and then, six months later he'd hidden his horror as the pair announced that they were going to be parents, and then, another seven months later, he'd held onto his grand daughter for the first time, while the Marine and his princess cried their joy out together.

Then, the predictable had occurred.

The little upstart bastard had been ordered to ship out, only three weeks after little Amy was born. The bastard had come back after three months, but then in another four he was gone for another three. It continued on like this for four years, the never being home, and the inconsistency. Then, the inevitable happened, and his princess was widowed, forever to grieve the love that she had lost to some sniper's rifle.

Dr. Harold Spinner hated the Marine Corps, and everything it represented, so when word came through of the heavily pregnant wife of a Gunnery Sergeant, the sole survivor of a car accident that was the result of a sniper attack, he rolled his eyes and scowled. Naturally, his superior put him on the case, stating that the woman was in a coma, but fading fast, and that the baby was to be saved.

The woman was quite pretty, but the amount of her body that was injured disgusted Harold. Where was her husband, off gallivanting in places unknown, leaving his pregnant wife alone?

Two hours later, after the woman, whose name he had learned to be Shannon Gibbs, had flat lined two times, and had been resuscitated both times, Harold carefully pulled the tiny, squirming, infant girl from the womb. Two minutes later, Shannon flat lined a third time, and was not able to be resuscitated. The infant was whisked off to the special care nursery, and the name card was left blank. Three hours later, at the end of the shift, the paramedics that had been at the scene came in, and told the doctors and nurses of Shannon Gibbs' last words, and the baby was officially dubbed Willow Danielle Gibbs.

Dr. Harold Spinner had not been present for the naming. He'd been up in the hospital director's office, saying that a Marine would never make a decent single father, especially of a newborn child who had, from a certain point of view, been responsible for her mother not receiving the medical treatment she needed. Harold argued that the child was going to be abused from infant hood, neglected, and would probably die as a result of abuse.

The hospital director was inclined to agree, as he held Marines to be rough, impersonal characters, with little or no parenting skills. Between the two men, the decision was made that the infant daughter of Gunnery Sergeant Leroy Jethro Gibbs, and Shannon Gibbs would be put up for adoption.

The adoption process was kept short, and before Gunnery Sergeant Leroy Jethro Gibbs had the chance to return to America and claim his infant daughter, she was whisked away from Washington, away from her only living family, and given a new last name, one that matched the one belonging to her new parents.

Willow Danielle Rosenberg.

**A.N. Hello all. Here is the first chapter of my latest story. Some of you might have noticed that I altered the timeline for Buffy to match with the NCIS timeline. I felt that it was necessary. This story is a response to the Whispers of Willow Challenge on TtH.  
**

**I hope you enjoyed the prologue, reviews are much appreciated.**

**R.W.**

 


	2. Chapter 1: 25th May, 2007

Sixteen years had dragged themselves by since the fateful day that had seen the end of Jethro Gibbs' beloved Shannon and Kelly, and he still thought of them every day. Little things, like turning into his driveway, and seeing the flower garden that Shannon had spent months weeding, planting, and nurturing, and whenever he saw a little girl playing in the park on the swings, or going down the slide, he though of his princess Kelly. Ever since they'd discovered his truth, after his amnesia following the explosion, and his subsequent trip to Mexico, his team had been sympathetic, and respectful. It hadn't been mentioned, but on the anniversary of the deaths, when Gibbs had made his annual pilgrimage to visit the graves, the handful of black roses, intermingled with other colours beside both of the headstones told him that Abby at least had been to pay her respects. He'd acknowledged the gesture by giving Abby an extra hug the next time he saw her.

One morning in May Gibbs and his team had no case, but they were still up to their necks in backlogged paperwork. Gibbs glanced up from his desk over his team. McGee was typing rapidly, an intent look of concentration upon his face. Ziva too was hard at work, tapping away at her keyboard, and occasionally glancing over at his senior field agent. Tony had a smile on his face as he worked, and Gibbs could see the familiar glint in his eye that told the former Marine that the Italian was planning something mischievous.

Everything was quiet in the Bullpen, except for the tapping of computer keys, the clicking of mouses, the muted conversations between members of other teams, and the turning of pages of reports, but the silence was disturbed by the dinging of the elevator. Gibbs, along with his team, looked up hopefully, eager for a visit from Abby or Ducky, or even Palmer, to break up the tedious paperwork. It wasn't Abby, or Ducky, or Palmer that walked into the Bullpen, but, much to everyone's surprise, Tobias Fornell. He entered the Bullpen sheepishly, and Gibbs was instantly suspicious. Because of the friendship between Gibbs and Fornell, he was always the guy that was sent to liaise with NCIS during cases, but since there was no case at that time, why would Fornell be in the Bullpen?

Fornell approached Gibbs' desk and cleared his throat nervously, holding out a cup of coffee as a peace offering. Gibbs took it with a nod of thanks.

"So, what can I do for you, Tobias?" Gibbs asked.

Fornell shifted his feet nervously, "Can I talk to you somewhere private? It's about a case the FBI has been working recently."

"They're going to find out about it eventually if we're going to be investigating it." Gibbs said, and Fornell coughed.

"Well, it's not exactly your kind of case, Gibbs. I'm here today because, well, you're kind of involved personally, if you get my meaning."

Gibbs shot a piercing look at his friend, and gestured for him to continue, so Fornell took a deep breath.

"For a while now the FBI has been investigating corruption, illicit, and unethical practices in several hospitals across the country, including a couple in DC. In the last few days we've discovered some files and documents, and some other evidence from one of the hospitals we've been investigating in D.C."

"There a point to this story, Tobias?" Gibbs asked. Fornell gulped nervously.

"One of the files we found was about a certain incident sixteen years ago. It wasn't handled ethically at the time, and was just swept under the carpet as a cover up. Even though there was a federal agency investigating the incident, the cover up wasn't uncovered until yesterday."

Gibbs shot Fornell a glare, and Fornell put the file he was carrying down on Gibbs' desk, "It was Shannon's file, Jethro, from the day she died, and, and it was about the baby she was carrying at the time. I'm so sorry Jethro."

Gibbs froze at the statement, his eyes falling to the file innocently lying on his desk as his thoughts flew to Shannon the last time he saw her and Kelly alive. Shannon had been rubbing her hands against her swollen stomach as her embraced her, kissing her, telling her how gorgeous she looked, and how proud of her he was, before he sank down to his knees and tenderly kissed the taut skin of Shannon's stomach, telling his unborn child how much he loved them, and that they better not think about making an appearance before he came back home. Shannon had been just over thirty four weeks into the pregnancy when her life, as well as Kelly's and their unborn child's, had been so quickly snuffed out. Jethro had been much too upset and angry to even find out if it had been a girl or a boy.

After a moment, though, Gibbs had recovered enough to pick up the file and get to his feet. He walked across the bullpen, and got into the elevator, flicking the emergency stop switch as soon as the door had closed behind him. Then, he flicked open the file and began to read the documents that were enclosed within.

Gibbs was silent as he read, his eyes becoming more and more narrowed the further he got into the file. He read Shannon's medical report, and how the doctors that treated her had given her no chance of recovery (though Gibbs was inclined to believe them when he saw the long list of injuries she sustained in the accident, and that was without any medical training), and her autopsy report, performed by the NIS ME before Ducky. There was a slip of paper with Shannon's final words written out on it by the paramedic who heard them, word for word. Gibbs felt his heart tighten in his chest as he read the doctors report on how they had operated to save Shannon's baby, and how they had succeeded in their task, delivering a tiny baby girl, Gibbs' daughter.

Gibbs scowled as he read his daughter's medical records, how despite her premature entry into the world, which resulted in a low birth weight, she'd been very healthy. Healthy enough for the adoption papers, which Gibbs now held a copy of, to be filled out and signed, and for tiny Willow Danielle Gibbs, now Willow Danielle Rosenberg to be transferred out of her fathers life, and into another, unidentified, hospital closer to her new home.

Silently he flicked the emergency stop switch again and got the doors to open, striding back out into the bullpen. He felt his team's eyes on him, and the nervous gaze of Fornell.

"Tobias, the bastards behind this, they better be looking at a hell of a long prison sentence."

"It's too late for that, all the people directly involved in that particular case, the head of the surgical unit, the doctor that organised it, the CEO of the hospital that allowed it, they've all died in the last ten years."

"Cause of Death?"

"Believe it or not, all natural. One had cancer, another had a stroke, and the other had a heart attack in the middle of performing surgery."

Gibbs swore under his breath, but internally he was glad, glad that he wouldn't have to watch the scumbags that robbed him of his baby daughter walk free, or with mere slaps on the wrist. Nor would he have to resist the temptation of going after them and beating the living daylights out of them, and risk his job.

"Fine, McGee, I want a search put out on Willow Danielle Rosenberg, make it a national search for now, she could be anywhere. Try criminal records, medical records, school records. She's only 16 years old, so she might not be on record. Parents are Ira and Shelia Rosenberg. Look them up first, it'll be easier. I want them tracked down."

"Do you want a Bolo out on them, Boss? Tony asked from his desk. Gibbs shook his head.

"No, I just want to know where they're living for now."

The three agents fell quiet, sensing that Gibbs would not tolerate any questions at the moment. He would give them answers in his own time, or never.

Fornell shifted from foot to foot, "Jethro is there anything you want me to do?"

"No, Tobias. Do you need these back?"

"No, I figured you'd want to keep hold of them, so they're all copies."

"Thanks," Gibbs nodded his acknowledgment, and Tobias took his cue to leave, hurrying out of the Bullpen. He knew that his colleagues were betting how many pieces he would be coming back in after the infamous Jethro Gibbs had finished with him. He was actually in shock that the former Marine hadn't ripped him a new one for being the one to drop the bombshell. The phrase 'don't shot the messenger' seemed very suitable for the suitable.

Well, for now, the messenger had survived.

Back in the bullpen, Gibbs was pacing, watched by Tony and Ziva.

"Gibbs, I've got a hit," McGee started.

"Talk to me, McGee." Gibbs replied walking over to her desk, and looking over her shoulder.

"Willow Rosenberg, Sixteen years old, currently in her junior year at high school, no criminal record, and no driving licence to her name. Mr. Ira Rosenberg is a widely known Rabbi. He tours the world and speaks at conferences. He is always accompanied by his wife, Shelia. She's a famous child psychologist, and also spends her time speaking at conferences and different universities world wide. No prior convictions on either of them. They are rarely home, but their address is in a town called Sunnydale, California, about two hours north of Los Angeles."

"Sunnydale," spluttered Tony, jumping up and crossing the room to McGee's desk, "Sunnydale California, are you absolutely certain, McGee?" he read the address over McGee's shoulder.

"Shit," he swore.

"Got a problem with Sunnydale California, Tony?" Gibbs asked.


	3. Chapter 2: 25th May, 2007

Chapter 2

Tony hesitated before replying, "No Boss, I've just got an Aunt, Uncle and Cousin in Sunnydale, that's all. Haven't seen them since I went on a road trip back when I was in College."

"Did you part on bad terms?" Ziva asked, curious about this titbit of information Tony had volunteered about his family.

"Yeah, I had an argument with my uncle about my little cousin. He was only nine at the time, I'm ten years older then him, but he's always been like my little brother, when we got to see each other, that is. His mom is my dad's younger sister, and he really didn't approve of her choice of husband."

"How long has it been, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked.

"Eight years, I didn't really think they'd appreciate getting visited by a cop, even if he is a relative." Tony shrugged.

"Well, you might want to change your thinking, because we're going."

"We're going? To Sunnydale?" Tony asked

"Yep, as soon as I clear it with the director."

"May I ask why?" Ziva asked. Gibbs pursed his lips before he spoke.

"Conference room, now, and get Abby, Ducky and the Director up here, I only want to go through this once."

"On it boss," said McGee, picking up his phone to call Abby. Gibbs nodded and went back to his desk, picking up the file he'd placed there before he began to walk to the conference room, with Ziva and Tony following at his heels.

NCIS/BtVS NCIS/BtVS NCIS/BtVS NCIS/BtVS NCIS/BtVS

Gibbs sat in the conference room, waiting not so patiently for Ducky and Abby to arrive. Vance had surprised Gibbs by beating both Abby and Ducky up to the conference room. Vance said that their was something in McGee's voice that told him it was important, what Gibbs was inclined to believe what he heard Tony whisper into Ziva's ear.

"He's probably just bored with all stuffy nosed people he deals with in his director ship jobs and wants to be with all us normal people, ot he's run out of Tooth picks."

Ziva and McGee had stifled their giggles, and, had his mood been better, Gibbs would have struggled to hide his smile. As it was, he was still pissed as all hell. As soon as Abby and Ducky hurried into the conference room and closed the door, Gibbs got started.

"As some of you know, Fornell came in here about an hour ago, and told me of a FBI investigation. It doesn't involve us at NCIS, just me personally. They've been investigating corruption and unethical practices at several hospitals across the country, including several in D.C. One of the cases of unethical conduct they found was in relation to Shannon, the day she died,"

"Oh Jethro, I'm so sorry." Ducky sympathised. Abby walked over to Gibbs and embraced him, holding him close.

"Thanks Abs," Jethro acknowledged the gesture. Abby let go and sat down beside Gibbs.

"What kind of unethical conduct did they encounter, Gibbs?" Vance quietly asked, sensing that the MCRT leader had more to say, and knowing that none of the others would dare to go fishing, except for maybe Ducky.

"They hid the fact that they were able to save Shannon's unborn child. My Daughter. They gave her up for adoption because they didn't think a unmarried marine was a suitable person to be raising a newborn, even if she was the only person he had left of his family." Gibbs spoke quietly, his voice thick with his thinly veiled anger. Abby clasped her hands to her mouth and hugged him again. Vance looked horrified, obviously thinking of his own daughters, Ducky bowed his head and shook it slightly. Tony looked horrified, his eyes betraying the sadness he felt on his mentor's behalf. McGee had his head bowed in horror, and Ziva looked outraged. They all knew how much Gibbs cared about his family, how he still mourned the tragic loss of Shannon and Kelly.

"The people you had me look up?" McGee quietly asked. Gibbs nodded.

"My daughter, and her adoptive parents, the Rosenbergs."

"Where?" Ducky asked.

"Sunnydale, California" Gibbs replied.

"What's her name?" Abby softly asked.

"Willow. Willow Danielle Rosenberg. Willow for one of my marine colleagues, and for Shannon's favourite type of tree, and Danielle was my mother's name"

"Of course," Tony said snapping his fingers, "I remember why the name meant something when you said it earlier. You said she'd be sixteen now, right boss?'

"That's right, DiNozzo"

"And Shannon had red hair, and green eyes?"

"Yeah, why are you asking this."

"Because I think I met Willow."

"What?" Gibbs snapped. Whatever Tony was getting to, that was not what he expected.

"Um, well, at least I think it was her. I mean, how many kids can have the exact same name. I mean, I know I met Willow Rosenberg, and, well, Rosenberg's not the most common name."

"When?"

"The last time I was in Sunnydale. I took my Cousin to the park, and he brought his best friend along. He introduced her as Willow Rosenberg. She was about the same age as him, maybe a little younger. She seemed tiny compared to him. I brought them both Ice creams. I've got a photo of them in a old album if you want me to find it, boss. I thought they were kind of cute."

'Eight years ago, she would've been eight. The same age as Kelly was when she died.' Jethro thought to himself.

"Vance, I'm going looking for her, and Sunnydale's where I'm going to look. I'm taking DiNozz, David, and McGee with me, I might need them."

"Alright, Jethro, I'll give you two weeks."

"Fine, it shouldn't take too long. McGee, get a hold of any cell numbers used by the Rosenbergs. Ziva, go organise a flight, as soon as you can get. Tony, call Callen in LA and get him to organise a vehicle for us for once we hit LA, and then send him the flight details so he can meet us off the plane. Abby, go do some research on Sunnydale, see whet we're heading into. Work with Tony, since he's been there before. When you're done, McGee, Tony, David, go home and pack your bags for two weeks. Meet back here."

"Got it boss" the team echoed, and ran from the room to get their jobs done quickly. Vance went off to write up the relevant paperwork authorising the team's trip. The reunion of a long lost child and her marine and NICS father was a definite NCIS case, after all. Only Ducky remained in the room with Jethro, who slumped back in his chair.

"I'm so very sorry, Jethro." Ducky softly said, moving from where he stood near the door, over to where Gibbs was sitting. He sat down beside his friend, and put his hand on his shoulder.

"All these years I could have spent with her, gone." Gibbs slowly said, "All the moments I missed out on."

"I know, Jethro."

"Kelly was so excited about it, a new baby in the house. She wanted it to be a girl. Shannon thought it was a girl, but I thought it was a boy. Looks like I was wrong."

"There's a first time for everything" Ducky joked, and Gibbs chuckled.

"I know. From what Tony said, she looks a lot like Shannon. That's probably a good thing for her."

Ducky laughed, "whatever you say, Jethro."

The pair fell into a comfortable silence, which Duck ended.

"Jethro, you need anything while you're away, or when you come back, I'm only a phone call away. I don't have much experience with sixteen year old girls, but I'll listen and offer advice."

"Thanks Duck," Gibbs replied, draining his coffee mug

NCIS/BtVS NCIS/BtVS NCIS/BtVS NCIS/BtVS NCIS/BtVS

"What do we have" Gibbs asked as he strode into the Bull pen. His team were all at their desks, busily working on their set tasks.

"Got a single phone for each member of the family. Ira and Shelia Rosenberg are in New York at the moment, attending a conference on Trends and Phases of Modern Teenage society. Sheila is one of the key note speakers. Willow Rosenberg's phone is at her school, probably in her locker."

"Right, Ziva?"

"I got four seats on a flight to LA that departs in six hours."

"Good, Tony, Abby, how did you go?"

"I got in touch with Callen, and he's going to meet us at their airport with the car. He said that if we needed any back up or other help, to just give him a call." Tony reported.

"I looked up info on Sunnydale, Gibbs, and this place is seriously Hinky. I started off the search at Sunnydale high school, and this place is, like, in the stratosphere as far as hinkyness goes. Last year the school principal got eaten by a pack of wild dogs, and every week in their school newsletter has an obituaries page. Not just a column, an actual page dedicated to people who have died or gone missing in the last two weeks. I looked up the local crime stats, and this place has a crime rate that's almost as bad as DC, and it's less than half the size of DC. I got onto the local coroner's database, and let me tell you the security is ridiculous, a fifteen year old could hack it, and the cause of death for ninety five percent of the bodies is either barbeque fork stab wound to the neck, or wild animal attack, or gang on PCP. Seriously, I pulled up a murder case, and the COD is just 'Gangs on PCP' end of case. Case closed. They have eleven cemeteries in Sunnydale, and that's just the ones currently in use. There's like another ten that have been filled up and abandoned. This place is seriously weird. Be careful there, Gibbs."

"Will do, Abs. I'll call when we get there." Gibbs walked to his desk and got his coat, and the rest of the team picked up their bags.

"Meet back here in two hours or your staying behind." He told his team as he led them out of the bullpen. Abby watched them as they entered the elevator, before she looked at Ducky worriedly.

"They'll be okay, won't they, Ducky?" she asked. Ducky sighed and nodded, wrapping a comfortable arm around the Goth forensic specialist.

"I'm sure they will, I'm sure they will." He told her soothingly.


	4. Chapter 3: 25th May, 2007

Tony, Ziva, and McGee all arrived in the elevator at the same time, ten full minutes before the two hour deadline was up. Predictably, Gibbs was already there, waiting for them, his packed suitcase sitting beside his desk. Tony chuckled at the predictability of his boss, before his thoughts lingered to the carefully packed envelope he's put in his backpack. He'd raced home and quickly packed, having had a lot of practice over the years, before he'd gone searching through his old photo albums of his old trips with the Frat house buddies. Eventually he'd found them, a set of four photos featuring two kids that looked strange considering the photos that they shared the double page spread with were photos from a nightclub visit, featuring several particularly buxom blondes. He'd hooked the photos of the kids, and a couple of scenery shots he'd taken in Sunnydale out of the album and carefully put them into the envelope and into his backpack, before he hurried back to the Navy Yard.

Wordlessly, Gibbs and the team moved out, meeting Abby, Ducky, Palmer and Vance in the Garage. Abby hugged them all tightly, telling them they better be back soon, and that they had to tell Gibblett, as she had affectionately dubbed Willow, that she said hi, and to pass on her greetings to Mini Tony, as she'd dubbed Tony's little cousin, as well if they met him. Tony had laughed, and promised to, thankful that he had a photo of the Goth on his phone to show Xander. He had a feeling that they would get along well.

Then, they were in the van driving to the airport, Ducky having volunteered to drive. The team sat in silence, Tony, Ziva, and Tim all knowing instinctively that Gibbs wasn't in the mood to tolerate idle chatter. It was going to be a long flight.

Ducky dropped them off at the airport, but didn't linger, knowing Vance needed him back at the Yard. Gibbs led his team through the check in, and through security, before they sat in the lounge. McGee went and got coffee for himself, Tony and Gibbs, and got Ziva a large cup of tea, while Tony went and found lunch for everyone. Ziva sat with Gibbs and made sure he didn't scare any of the other people that were catching the plane too much. She didn't attempt to talk, knowing from the stormy look in Gibbs' eyes that he wasn't in the mood for it. She thought it was understandable, considering what he'd discovered earlier that morning.

When McGee and Tony came back, they ate and drank quietly, before they boarded the plane. Tony was pleased to note that he was next to Gibbs, and that Ziva was on his other side and Tim was on the other side of her, across the aisle. Gibbs, Tony, and Ziva all knew that as soon as he got clearance, his laptop would be out, and he'd be working on his latest novel, or playing games or something else equally geekish. Predictably, they were right. Tony rolled his eyes at Ziva, who laughed, before she hooked a book out of her bag and started to read. Tony waited another ten minutes, to make sure that both of his fellow team members were absorbed in their tasks, before he pulled the envelope carefully out of his backpack.

"Um, Boss?"

"What is it, DiNozzo?"

"I, I went through my photo albums at home, and found my photos from my last trip to Sunnydale."

Gibbs looked sharply at his Senior Field agent, realisation dawning on his face as he realised what Tony was saying. Tony handed the envelope to Gibbs, who opened it carefully. Tony had made sure that one of the photos that featured his cousin and Willow was on the top of the stack of photos. Gibbs' eyes locked onto the photo, or rather, the young, red haired girl in it, her green eyes sparkling with mirth. She clutched an ice cream in her hand, and Gibbs could tell just by looking at it that it was Cookies and Cream flavour, just like what Shannon and Kelly always had when they went out (Gibbs himself always had gotten a rich coffee flavoured concoction famous at their local ice cream parlour). He studied the face of his daughter. The resemblance she bore to Kelly was remarkable, except that Kelly had inherited his eyes, while Willow had her mother's emerald orbs that seemed to shine. Gibbs tuned the photo over and read the writing on the back, instantly recognising Tony's handwriting.

' _Xander and Willow Rosenberg at the Park, Sunnydale, July, 1999'_

Gibbs turned the photo back over and studied the young boy in the photo. He could so easily have passed as a much younger DiNozzo, with the classical Italian tanned skin and dark brown hair. The boy had brown eyes, unlike Tony, who had green, but a different sort of green compared to Shannon and Willow.

Gibbs flicked through the next two photos, which featured the same pair. In one they were in a sand pit together, building an impressive sandcastle. Xander was creating a large mountain in the sand, while Willow was working on some fine detailing. In the other they were standing at the top of the playground, looking down at the camera, waving their arms in greeting.

The last photo, however, made Gibbs grin. Tony had obviously gotten someone else to take this photo, because he was in it. Tony, Xander, and Willow were hanging upside down at the monkey bars, grinning madly at the camera. Willow's long red hair hung down, and her skin was flushed with blood that had been sent rushing to her head from her being upside down.

Gibbs glanced across at were Tony hung, his smile broadening when he saw the childish delight upon the face of the young man who would become his senior field agent. Gibbs looked sideways at the older version of Tony that sat beside him, smiling sheepishly.

"Have fun that day, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked with a smirk. Tony's cheeks reddened.

"Just getting in on the act, boss, that's all."

"What are we talking about?" Ziva asked, drawing herself out of the book and looking sideways at Tony and Gibbs. Gibbs looked at the stricken look on his Senior Field Agent's face and laughed, before he handed Ziva the photo with Tony in it. Ziva took one look and dissolved into chuckles of amused laughter.

"I always knew that you were still a child at mind, Tony."

"Child at Heart, Ziva, its child at heart," Tony corrected, carefully taking the photo off of her. Ziva laughed some more, and turned back to her book, smiling to herself.

NCIS/BtVS NCIS/BtVS NCIS/BtVS NCIS/BtVS NCIS/BtVS

Several hours later, the team arrived at LA airport just as the sun sunk beneath the horizon. They wound their way through baggage claim, and back through security, and Tony was the first to spot Callen. Gibbs led the way towards their fellow NCIS agent.

"Gibbs," Callen greeted, offering the ex marine his hand to shake. Gibbs took it and shook it.

"How's things at LA? Busy?" Tony asked as they headed out of the main buildings and out into the car park.

Callen laughed and nodded, "It's always busy, Tony. I don't think any NCIS agent would describe themselves as not busy."

Ziva, Tony, and Tim all laughed at that, and Gibbs had to struggle to stop a smile spreading on his face. Being shown the photos that DiNozzo had of his little girl had helped settle him, and had improved his mood greatly. In fact, he could see the possible advantages growing up away from him could've had for Willow. Firstly she wouldn't have been in danger from Gibbs' enemies. He hated to think what Ari would have done if he'd gotten his claws into Willow. Gibbs shuddered at the thought. Secondly, Gibbs had tended to travel a fair bit in his early years at NIS, doing missions with other agents. He had a sudden flashback of Jenny in Paris. It would have hurt him and Willow if he was often away and out of contact. Thirdly, there was the whole being married three times thing. Kids needed stability and consistency in their lives, and having three stepmothers in not very long was the exact opposite of what Willow needed growing up.

Then, Gibbs thought about what Abby had said about Sunnydale, with its exceedingly high Murder rate. Sunnydale sounded like it was the most unsafe place in the world to bring up a child, and Gibbs was sure that her adoptive parents wouldn't have made sure Willow knew self defence, and knew how to fire a gun if she had to, although their was an off chance that they might have been aware of the dangers.

Gibbs' gut told him that he shouldn't get his hopes up.


	5. Chapter 4: 25th May, 2007

DISCLAIMER: I STILL OWN NOTHING

 

Gibbs drove down the highway, pushing the speed limit. Beside him, DiNozzo rode shotgun, eyeing the GPS that sat on the front dashboard.

"So what is the plan?" Ziva asked from the back seat, obviously bored. Gibbs thought about it, having not already formed a plan in his head.

"It's night time. It'll be at least eight thirty by the time we get there, probably closer to nine. Ziva, call ahead and see if you can arrange some motel rooms or something. Tony, give your Aunt and Uncle a call, I want you to spend some time with them. We'll head to the Rosenberg's tomorrow morning."

'Boss, tomorrow is a school day." McGee said quietly.

"Early tomorrow"

Ziva hooked out her phone and rang up the Motel in Sunnydale, having been given a list of numbers and Addresses by Callen. Once she hung up, she smiled.

"We have two single rooms, and a twin share. It was all they had available."

"Right, McGee, DiNozzo, you're sharing. DiNozzo, ring your Aunt and Uncle." Gibbs ordered

"Yes Boss" Tony pulled out his phone.

"Probie, can you look up their number? Anthony and Jessica Harris."

"Family name is it, Tony?" Ziva asked

"No, My Aunt Jessica is my Dad's younger sister. She married Italian, and it sort of narrows down the choice in names a bit."

Ziva and McGee both snorted, and Gibbs grinned at the joke, before they all fell silent as McGee looked up the number.

"Got it Tony" McGee read the number out, and Tony typed it into his mobile, saving it to his address book just in case he needed to call them again. He then hit the call button, and the people in the car fell silent again.

" _Hello?"_

'Hello, Auntie Jessica, is that you?"

" _Tony, Tony DiNozzo, is that you?"_

"Yeah, it is. How are you?"

" _I'm fine. How are you? Is everything alright. Is your father well?"_

Tony rolled his eyes, "As far as I know, I don't speak to him these days."

" _Ah, yes. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."_

"Never mind. How are Uncle Tony and Xander?"

" _Tony, well, he hasn't changed. Xander has grown up so much since you last visited."_

"Funny that you should mention visiting, Auntie Jess. I'm coming to Sunnydale."

" _That is great news Tony, May I ask why?"_

"Work stuff, mostly, but I was hoping I could come and visit you at some point. I'm not sure how long I will be in town for, though."

" _When do you arrive?"_

"Tonight, actually, we're driving up from LA at the moment."

" _Wow, so soon."_

"Yeah, it was kind of spur of the moment."

" _What is it that you do, Tony. You hadn't decided last time you'd visited, you were thinking of maybe a P.E. Teacher, or something like that."_

"I went to the police academy, Auntie Jessica. I work for NCIS now, Naval Crime Investigative Service. It's like the FBI, only with The Marine Corps and with the Navy."

" _Oh, right then. Why don't you come by tonight. We have no plans, or, at least, I don't. Tony went out to the bar earlier, and he should be back soon enough. He will probably just go straight to bed."_

"We're still an hour away, Auntie Jessica, It will be late."

" _It is fine, Tony."_

Tony glanced sideways at Gibbs, who nodded, "Okay then, we'll come by once we've dropped our stuff by at the motel."

" _Tony, you shouldn't have bothered with a motel, there is always the guest bedroom."_

"There are four of us, Auntie Jess. My colleagues and I _"_

" _Oh, right, of course, I forgot you were working. They should come and visit here too. I'll put some coffee on."_

"Thank you, Auntie Jess. See you soon"

" _See you, Tony"_

Tony hung up and looked sideways at Gibbs.

"That a problem boss?"

"Nope, Hell, Willow's childhood best friend could be there."

"Please don't intimidate him too much, Gibbs, He's only a kid. He's just turned 17."

"I won't" Gibbs sighed, knowing that however it turned out, he couldn't start things off with his daughter by scaring the crap out of one of her friends, (or former friends, however it went. Eight years was a hell of a long time for a childhood friendship to last, especial a boy-girl friendship to survive the early teenage years unscathed.)

Gibbs had a sudden thought that made him shudder involuntarily, and Tony obviously had the same thought, because he pulled a face.

"You don't think that…" Tony asked.

"I'm trying not to" Gibbs muttered.

"Same, although if he's as good at flashing the ole DiNozzo charm as I am…"

"DiNozzo" Gibbs growled.

"Sorry boss, Shutting up now Boss"

"Good" Gibbs glared.

Soon afterwards, Gibbs spotted the exit for Sunnydale, and turned off the main highway, now forced to rely on the GPS's directions to the motel.

They all watched out of the windows as they had their first (or, for Tony, Second) experience of Sunnydale. The streets were deserted of life, which Gibbs found odd, but not unnatural. His mind full once again with the statistics of the numbers of murders the town had seen. Even as he thought it, he passed one of the cemeteries, and the first two pedestrians he'd seen, a teenaged girl with blond hair walking hand in hand with an older, dark haired guy.

"Interesting place for a moonlit walk?" Ziva commented.

"Don't say that to Abby, she'll be getting ideas" Tony joked.

They soon found the motel, and Ziva went in and organised the keys, while the others got their stuff from the back of the car. Gibbs was glad that Callen had organised a big SUV for them, otherwise he doubted that everything would have fit.

Ziva handed out the keys, and McGee and Dinozzo fought over theirs, knowing that first in would get first dibs on the bed. Ziva and Gibbs rolled their eyes at their childishness and left them to it.

Once they were all organised (Tony won first dibs on the bed, but negotiated that Tim had full use of the desk, but then it wasn't like Tony would be needing the desk anyway.) they all got back in the car, and McGee put the address of the Harris family in. Then, they went off into the night.

As they pulled up in front of the home of Tony's relatives, the team were quiet. To tell the truth, it wasn't what Gibbs, Ziva, or McGee expected, since they'd been thinking of Tony's privileged upbringing on Long Island. The run down house, with the unkempt gardens over choked with weeds, and the peeling paint, looked very gloomy, very far from Tony's Long Island upbringing. Tony, however, kept his expression schooled. He knew what kind of people his Aunt and Uncle were, and he was surprised at how good a condition the house was in. He guessed Xander had something to do with it.

The team followed Tony up onto the front porch as he quietly tapped on the door, remembering what his Aunt said about his uncle being at the Bar. He did not need Gibbs seeing dear old Uncle Tony when he was like that. This was going to bad enough as it was

The door opened a crack, and the woman that answered it again surprised the team. Ziva and McGee had expected a middle aged, plump to overweight woman, with greying hair, tanned skin, wrinkles, and a wide smile.

They weren't expecting a woman who didn't look that much over forty, her hair untouched by noticeable greys, her skin mostly free of wrinkles, and very thin, almost too thin.

"Tony" the woman gushed quietly, and she pulled the taller man into a hug, casing the NCIS agent to stiffen up automatically.

"Auntie Jessica" Tony managed

"Oh, Tony, you have barely changed. You need to put on more weight though. Too skinny, just like Xander. You two almost look like brothers."

"Is Xander home?"

"No, not yet. He stays out late now, but he's almost always home by his curfew. Ever since he met his girl he's always been home on time. I expect them soon. Oh, where are my manners, come in, all of you. It must be cold outside. Where have you all come from, you all look tired?"

"Washington, Auntie Jess, we're based in Washington D.C."

"That's such a long way away. Come in, you all must be tired. Please, though, be quiet, my husband is upstairs sleeping. I don't want to wake him up."

"We'll be quiet, Auntie Jess," Tony promised, shooting a glance at the others. They all knew not to say anything, just from that one look.

They all entered the house quietly, and Jessica led them into the lounge room, pulling the door closed behind her. She gestured for them to sit down, and picked up a kettle of boiling water, which shed obviously put on the coffee table when the car pulled up.

"Would you like anything to drink? I have coffee and tea."

"The entire team asked for their preferred drinks, and Tony helped her make it.

"Auntie Jess, I'm sorry, I should have done this earlier. This is My Boss, Special Agent Gibbs, and my Partners, Special Agent McGee, and Probationary Agent David. Guys, this is my Auntie Jessica."

"Nice to meet you," McGee said politely, and Ziva nodded her agreement.

"Thank you for agreeing to see Tony, Mrs. Harris" Gibbs said respectfully.

"Oh, why wouldn't I? You're the only nephew I have, well, on my side of the family anyway. Besides, I was going to be staying up to make sure Xander got home safe anyway."

"How is Xander going anyway? He keeping out of trouble?'

"Yes, well, as far as I know he is. The police have never had a complaint about him, and he get's decent marks at school.'

"Does he have many friends?" Tony asked, glancing sideways at Gibbs, who nodded approvingly at the subtle approach.

"Yes, he has a few. He's not a jock like you were, and he's not overly popular, but he has his friends. All his friends are girls though, ever since Jesse died last year. I've never seen Xander so upset as what he was when that happened. So sudden, it could so easily have been Xander that those thugs grabbed. Do you remember Jesse from your last visit? Maybe not, I think he was on holiday with his family at the time. They always went away in the summer holidays. "

"Was Jesse one of his friends?"

"Yes, He and Xander and Willow were inseparable from the day they met Jesse. They must have been in third grade when they met."

"Willow? Willow Rosenberg? I remember her from my last visit. She and Xander still friends?"

"Oh, yes. Him and Her and, er, Buffy, and Cordelia. Cordelia is Xander's girlfriend. They've been going out for about six months now. They're all really good kids. Xander's so happy."

Tony smiled and glanced at Gibbs again, who had a small smile on his face.

Gibbs smiled when he heard Jessica talking about Willow and Xander and the rest of their friends. Willow sounded like she was in the right sort of friendship group.

Gibbs frowned when he heard the dull roar of a car approaching the house, though Jessica smiled.

"Oh, that's Cordelia's car. Xander will be so happy to see you Tony."

The NCIS team moved to the window to get a better look. The hot red sports car that pulled noisily into the Harris family driveway behind the NCIS team's car was pretty hard to miss.

They watched as a lanky boy got out of the front passenger seat, leaning back in for what the team assumed was a good bye kiss, before he grabbed his bag and swung it up onto his shoulder and headed for the house, surveying the different car in the driveway curiously, before glancing around suspiciously.

Gibbs realised that the teenager was sweeping the perimeter with his eyes as the red sports car pulled out of the driveway and sped off down the street. Obviously concluding that it was safe, the teenager headed up the front steps to the front door and quietly opened it, stepping into the house. Gibbs heard the front door close, and lock, behind the teenager, and he mentally nodded encouragingly. The kid knew what was going on in the town; that much was obvious. Hopefully, though, Gibbs though, he wasn't too involved.

"Mom?" the kid quietly called, cracking the lounge room door open. He froze when he saw the stranger's in the lounge room.

"Oh, Xander, there you are. I was just talking to Tony and His colleagues about you and your friends."

"Tony?" Xander asked, before his eyes fell on his older cousin.

"No Way," He grinned, lunging for him. Tony staggered under the weight of his not-so-little-anymore cousin.

"Hey Xan, how's it going?" Tony grinned.

"Good. This is great, haven't seen you in ages." Xander babbled.

"About eight years, give or take."

"Yeah, something like that. What brings you to good old Sunny D?"

"Work stuff." Tony said, rolling his eyes dramatically. Xander laughed.

"What is it that you do again?"

"I'm a Federal Agent, with NCIS." Tony said easily.

Xander instinctively stiffened up, before he forced himself to relax, lest Tony notice. One look at his older cousin's face told him that he'd been too late; Tony knew that something was up.

' _Oh Shit.'_


	6. Chapter 5: 25th and 26th May, 2007

Tony was surprisingly quiet as they headed back to the motel, though none of the other agents said anything. They'd all seen the way Xander, Tony's young cousin, had stiffened up when Tony had said that he was a cop, the look of panic that darted across his face, before the teenager regained control and schooled his expression with almost as much ease as Tony himself. Obviously, hiding beneath masks was something that Xander had also developed a certain amount of skill at.

It had obviously shaken Tony though, because as they'd gotten into the car, he'd ordered McGee to watch the home phone line, and to see if Xander had a mobile, and if he did, then to trace that as well.

The scary thing was that Gibbs himself had been five seconds awat from giving the same order. The reaction Xander had shown instantly made the former Marine on his guard, and since the teenager was one of his daughter's best friends, he thought he was entitled to investigate to see if anything serious or illegal was going on.

Of course, it could be nothing; and considering the inaction of the local police force, especially given that Xander and Willow had lost a good friend to a murderer that had presumably gone unpunished, it was highly possible that the teenagers held Law enforcement as a whole to be ineffective.

Although it was a wrong attitude for any teenager to have, Gibbs could hardly blame them.

They reached the motel, and spilt up to their own rooms. McGee sighed. At least Tony was being quiet, although he doubted the Senior Field Agent's dark mood was going to last for their entire trip.

NCIS/BtVS NCIS/BtVS NCIS/BtVS NCIS/BtVS NCIS/BtVS

Xander Harris was nervous as he hurried through the hallways of Sunnydale High, his bag slung over his shoulder. His cousin's surprise visit was nice enough, but the fact that it was work related, and that he was a cop made him nervous. This was bad. He doubted that Tony's work colleagues would be subject to the typical if-it-looks-weird-ignore-it approach taken by the Sunnydale Police Department. And Tony and his team weren't just normal police; they were Federal Agents, working for NCIS. Tony had explained what NCIS stood for, and Xander was freaked. Please let there not be some Vampire who decided that Marines were exceptionally tasty. Xander had a sudden image of a Marine in vamp face, and shuddered. That would be bad. Marine Vamp.

Xander burst into the library, causing Giles and Willow to Jump. Buffy was twirling an axe around, and didn't even flinch.

"Hey Xan" she greeted.

"Hey Buffy" Xander replied, "We have a major problem."

"What is it, Xander, Did some demon steal the last of those chocolate bars you find so irresistible?' Giles asked, rubbing his forehead.

"I'm serious. Tony's in town."

"Who?" Giles asked.

"Tony? As in Your Cousin Tony?' Willow asked. Xander nodded.

"And that's a problem how?" Buffy asked, not seeing the issue.

"Tony's a Federal Agent now, working with something called NCIS. Naval Criminal Investigative Services. He and his team are here, from Washington DC, on work related business."

"Oh dear lord" Giles groaned, taking off his glasses to polish them.

"We should be good, I mean, how many marines and Sailors can there be in Sunnydale?" Buffy asked.

"I don't know; we don't know of any Vampires that have a fetish for marines or Navy people, do we?' Xander asked.

Willow was already tapping on her computer, obviously getting onto the coroner's site, and probably Sunnydale PD's site as well the Missing Person's database.

"None of the bodies discovered in the last six months have had any marine or Naval connection to them, and the missing person's database is clear too. There isn't any missing Navy people in Sunnydale, or from anywhere near here, or that went missing here, or anything."

"Maybe they're following a suspect for a case?" Buffy asked.

Xander shrugged in reply, "I don't know, but they only arrived last night. Wouldn't you think that they'd go straight to the person they're looking for, instead of calling in on one of the agent's long lost relatives for a nice chat and a cup of coffee."

The others conceded that Xander had a point.

"Alright. We shall proceed with extreme caution. Xander, I want you to act as normally as you can around them, and maybe you shouldn't stay as late researching as you did last night. Be seen at the Bronze, acting normally. Same goes for you two as well," Giles glanced at Buffy and Willow, "We don't need Federal Agents breathing down our necks and realising that something unusual is going on. Buffy, after school, go and see Angel and tell him of the situation. Go to Willy's and see if anyone is willing to talk about why there are NCIS agents in Town."

"Will do." Buffy nodded. Outside in the corridor, the bell rang.

"I guess that's our cue" Xander sighed dramatically as he and the others got their bags and moved to the door, Willow carefully getting out of the hacked sights, and erasing all trace of ever being on those sites, before she hurried off to class, waving cheerily to Giles as she left

The trio moved down the corridor together, stopping at their lockers. Cordelia approached them.

"Hi guys" she greeted, kissing Xander hello, "What's going on?"

"We have a slight problem of the relative slash federal agent variety." Buffy explained.

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Meanwhile, in the Motel, Gibbs was pacing, waiting for school to get out. They'd decided that Tony and Gibbs would wait outside the school at the end of class and watch. When Xander emerged, Tony would approach him, asking if he wanted to hang out, and that he should bring some friends. Hopefully, Xander would invite Willow, allowing Tony to re get to know her. Then, Tony and Gibbs would go to her house, and drop the bombshell.

It was a feasible plan, and they'd all accepted that a slow and steady kind of approach was important. It also, though none of them mentioned it, allowed Tony to re-connect with Xander, and get to know the young man his little cousin had grown up into. Xander would be eighteen by the end of the year, and Tony wanted to be able to help his cousin through the transition from childhood to adulthood, since it was pretty obvious that Jessica Harris had married a man as close to her brother as possible, except with out the wealth. Xander's father was just as much a neglectful drunk as Tony's own father had been.

The team spent the day looking around Sunnydale. Gibbs rolled his eyes as McGee took photos on his phone because he thought that the town would be a good right place to set his next book, or some of it anyway. Tony was telling Ziva about how Californian teenagers were stereotyped in movies, complete with examples.

"Hey, is that the park that you and Xander and Willow visited?" Ziva asked, trying to distract Tony. He looked over at the Park, which was deserted.

"Yeah, it is. Hasn't changed one bit."

The group walked into the park, and Gibbs couldn't help but smile as he thought of Willow, Xander, and Tony playing on the monkey bars and eating ice cream together in the shade of the trees. Kelly would have liked it here too, he realised, and had a sudden flash, although it never would have happened, of a slightly older Kelly, maybe Twelve years old, playing with a four year old Willow on a playground similar to this that was near his house, Shannon watching them play, laughing at their Girls. When he got back, he'd have to take Willow to Shannon and Kelly's graves and tell her about them. It would hurt for him to talk about them, but Gibbs knew that Willow would want to know, and deserved to know about her mother and older sister, especially considering she would never meet them.

Well, maybe in eighty odd years time when they'd all be in heaven together. Well, Shannon and Kelly and Willow would be, possibly not Gibbs, he'd done too much already, he was pretty sure that he was going to hell when he died.

Gibbs was drawn out of his musings by the sound of laughter. He glanced at his team, and felt a slight smile break out across his face. Tony had jumped onto the play equipment, and was teasing Ziva and McGee about being too chicken to come and join him. Ziva was laughing, her eyes sparking with Mirth as watched Tony.

"Tony, I do not understand, why are you playing with a children's playground"

"Like you said, Zi-vah," Tony explained, "Get in touch with your inner child and all that. Besides, I have a great view up here."

McGee and Ziva looked at each other and shrugged and climbed up to join Tony, looking out and admiring the view. None of them noticed Gibbs hook out his phone and navigate into its camera, before taking a photo of the scene. He surprised himself that he actually did it. Making sure he saved it, and making a mental note to make sure that he asked Abby to make a hard copy of it, before carefully putting the phone back into his pocket, glancing at his watch as he went.

"DiNozzo, we need to head to the school, Ziva, McGee, we'll drop you off at the motel on the way through."

"Sure thing Boss' Tony replied and jumped down form the equipment, followed by Ziva and McGee. As they walked, Tony jostled light heartedly with McGee, who rolled his eyes at the antics, but then jostled back. Gibbs watched his team as they interacted and smiled.

Obviously the time out of the office, not on a case, had done the team a lot of good.


	7. Chapter 6: 26th and 27th May, 2007

Gibbs and Tony sat in the car, watching as the hoard of teenagers walked away from the school. Tony had opted for a casual look, which Gibbs had noticed. It was almost like watching Tony before an undercover operation. Gibbs conceded that it was a undercover op, though without as much risk, though knowing this town, walking down the street was a hazardous experience.

Assuming that he could talk Willow's adoptive parents into it, he was taking her back to DC with him. It might be more dangerous, but at least she was where he could look after her.

"Boss" Tony's voice drew Gibbs from his inner musings. Gibbs glanced out the window and spotted a familiar teenager walking across the grass, accompanied by a cluster of three girls. One of them had dark brown hair, and one of them had blonde, but it was to the red head that Gibbs' eyes were drawn. It so easily could have been an older Kelly walking in that group, or a younger Shannon; Long red hair, pale skin, green eyes that seemed to shine with happiness, a sweet smile. Gibbs felt himself freeze.

' _Oh God, Shannon, I've found our baby girl. She looks so much like you'_

"Boss' Tony said again, watching as his boss seemed to shut down right before his eyes.

"It's her, that's Willow" Gibbs softly said, watching Willow with Xander and the other two girls.

"I know boss, she hasn't changed all that much since I was here last time, just a bit more grown up." Tony replied gently.

"She looks so much like Shannon."

"Do you want me to go talk to Xander?"

"Yes."

Tony nodded and got out of the car, putting his sunglasses and best smile on, before he strode across the lawn casually, feeling the eyes of every female in the immediate area slide towards him. He could practically hear the jaws slamming into the ground, and the saliva running from the mouths of at least a hundred teenaged girls. Many men would be intimidated, but not Tony DiNozzo. This was what he was made for.

He reached Xander, who had spotted him, and had stopped, and grinned.

"Hey Xander."

"Hey Tony" Xander replied cautiously, his gaze flickering worriedly to Buffy.

"Care to introduce me to your friends, Xander. Seems you inherited the ole DiNozzo charm, huh?"

Xander felt his cheeks burning a little, but cleared his throat and recovered from the lapse, "This is my girlfriend Cordelia Chase, and my Best friends, Buffy Summers and Willow Rosenberg. Guys, this is my Cousin Tony, the one I was telling you about today."

"Ah, I remember you Willow. Been keeping an eye on Xander for me, and making sure he isn't getting into trouble?" Tony grinned to show that he was joking, and Willow smiled, relaxing a little

"I try" she said, and Xander cringed, wrapping his arm around Cordelia's shoulders in an attempt to look less geek-like than he already had.

"I see you have the great DiNozzo taste in women as well, Xander" Tony teased, and this time Xander was ready for it.

"What can I say?" he said shrugging, but at the same time sending his older cousin the territorial look that all men recognised. It was the look that quite plainly said 'hands off, she's mine.'

"So, Tony was it? How long are you planning on being in town for?" Buffy asked, straight to the point as usual

"Not too long, a week, maybe two. We only got permission from the director to be here for two weeks, so it's not a long trip. Xander, I was wondering if tonight you wanted to bring your friends and we'd go out together. There must be some place you guys like to hang out"

"It's a school night." Willow pointed out, and Tony fought the urge to roll his eyes. Willow might look like Shannon, but obviously she had a fondness for rules, much like her father.

"Tomorrow night okay? It'll be Friday. We could go to the Bronze."

"What's that?" Tony asked, "Tanning salon?"

Cordelia laughed, "No, that's at the mall. No, The Bronze is like, the only teen hangout in this hellhole."

"It's a club, and we can all get in, legally. We just can't buy alcoholic drinks."

"The Dingoes are playing there tomorrow night too." Willow chimed in.

"Who is that?" Tony mused out loud.

"A band. Willow's ex boyfriend is in it." Xander explained his voice hard. Tony instantly realised that Xander really didn't like Willow's former boyfriend.

"It was a mutual break up, Xander. He decided that he needed to focus on his music, and I wanted to focus on school. We're still friends." Willow explained

"Beside, how long were you two going out for?" Cordelia asked.

"Three months. Besides, Xander, it happened in February. That was ages ago. You are over reacting."

"Hey, Wills, you're like my sister, the closest friend I've ever had, of course I'm overprotective."

"Anyway, guys, Bronze, Tomorrow night, with Tony." Buffy brought the conversation back to the original tangent.

"Right, sounds great. Meet for Pizza before hand, my treat? " Tony asked. He was met by enthusiastic nodding form his cousin.

"I'm in," Cordelia beamed. Heck, if this was what Xander's cousin looked like, there had to be good genes in there somewhere. Besides, imagine what Xander could grow into once he grew out of his adolescent years.

Willow nodded too, eager to not get left out.

"I might be a bit late coming, I'll meet you ate the bronze?" Buffy said.

"Bring de… I mean, bring Angel with you, if you want." Xander reluctantly invited.

"Okay, it will definitely be later then, it's not fair taking him to a pizza place, with his allergies." Buffy improvised.

"I'll pick you up at seven o'clock tomorrow night, and you can give me directions?" Tony asked, sensing that Gibbs would be getting impatient. Xander nodded.

"Alright, I'll see you then." Tony nodded, before he strode back across the lawn. Most of the teenagers that had been milling around had dissipated, but there were a few that had lingered. He got back into the car and Gibbs started the engine.

"So, how did it go?"

"I'm in. I'm picking him up at seven tomorrow night, and we're meeting for pizza, and then going to some local club called the Bronze. His girlfriend and Willow are coming, and Buffy and her boyfriend are coming later and meeting us there."

"Did she say anything?" Gibbs turned out of the car park and began to drive towards the motel

Tony didn't need to ask who Gibbs was talking about, "Yeah, she said a bit, but she's kind of shy, so I didn't get a whole lot out of her. What I did get was that she's a rules kind of person. I tried to set it up for tonight, and she made a comment about it being a school night. I got the feeling that she doesn't have a boyfriend at the moment, but they talked about her ex boyfriend for a while. Apparently he's in a band called Dingoes, and that he and her were together for three moths, and they broke up in February. It was a mutual decision. I was watching her, and she didn't seem like she'd been badly hurt about it, but Xander doesn't like him. Xander is also overprotective of Willow, and he views her as his sister. That's all I gathered about Willow."

"What about the group. Any indication of anything illegal?"

"I got the feeling that although Xander was acting like he was the leader, it's actually the Blonde girl, Buffy, that's the leader of the group, he kept glancing over at her when he was answering questions. If they're doing anything, and I really didn't get the whole 'teen gang lets go get drunk and do drugs and kill people' kind of vibe off of them, Buffy Summers is the one leading it, and the others are going along for the ride. But, like I said, my guts saying it's nothing illegal, so Willow's probably fine."

"That's what my gut says too," Gibbs nodded in agreement, but a horrifying thought raced through his mind.

' _What if my gut is wrong? What if Willow wasn't fine?'_

' _What if she was killed?'_

NCIS/BtVS NCIS/BtVS NCIS/BtVS NCIS/BtVS NCIS/BtVS

That Friday afternoon found McGee, Ziva, and Tony in the room the McGee and Tony were sharing. Gibbs was in his room, and the team weren't even sure what exactly the team leader was doing. McGee had his lap top opened up, and Abby's face took up the whole screen as she conferred with the others.

"So, you actually spoke to Gibblet, Tony? Did she look like him? Talk like him?"

"Apparently she's the spitting image of Shannon. He full on zoned out when he saw her. She said something though, and it could have been straight out of his mouth." Tony replied.

"I hope I get to meet her."

"Abby, it's probable that He'll be bringing her back with us. He's worried about this high crime rate thing, besides, there's something going on in that group. Something weird."

"Gibbs' daughter is into something hinky? That's hinky enough as it is."

"I know" McGee agreed as Gibbs himself pushed the door open and walked into the room.

"Hi Gibbs" Abby cheerfully greeted.

"Hey Abs. DiNozzo, you all ready for tonight?"

"Sure thing Boss."

"Oh, are you going undercover Tony?" Abby asked. Tony grinned.

"I'm going to take my cousin, Willow, and a couple of their other friends out for tea, before we go to some teen hang out."

"Ah, an opportunity for you to act like an idiot and not look like one, then?" Ziva teased. McGee laughed.

"Ha, very funny," Tony said, a slight scowl on his face, although his eyes betrayed his amusement.


	8. Chapter 7: 27th May, 2007

Tony pulled his car up outside the pizza place Xander had directed him to, and got out of the drivers seat. Xander got out from the passenger's seat and waited for him on the curb.

"You have a nice car," Xander said appreciatively. Tony chuckled.

"It's not mine, we loaned this one form the LA branch of NCIS, called in a favour and all that. I drive a black mustang.

Xander's eyes widened, and Tony mentally cheered. The way to any teenaged boys mind was through hot chicks, cool cars, and lots of food. Xander had organised the girl himself, so Tony just had to handle the car and the food. Done, easy.

"That's cool, how does it run?"

"Pretty well, I take care of it myself, except for the complicated things. It's my second one; my old one got blown up during a undercover mission."

Xander's eyes were nearly as big as saucers, "Blown up…wow, were you in it?"

"No, but I saw it happen. I was devastated, I liked that car. Come on, let's go have some dinner."

"Okay" Xander grinned, leading tony inside. A few minutes later, Willow arrived, and then Cordelia not long afterwards.

"What type of car do you drive, Willow?" Tony asked.

"I don't, I walked here tonight. I like going for walks at sunset."

"Is that really safe?" Tony asked without thinking. Mentally, he cringed at his forwardness, but he knew that Gibbs would be pissed when he found out that Willow liked going for sunset walks in a town like Sunnydale.

"When you know where not to go it can be" Willow said, shrugging. The table went awkwardly quiet, and Tony decided to redirect the conversation.

"So, what are we ordering?"

The group ordered two large pizzas to share, and waited quietly. Tony cleared his throat.

"So, what's school like?"

"Its fine" Xander shrugged.

"The teachers make us do lots of work" Cordelia added.

"We learn lots of things, which is of the good." Willow chimed in as the pizza arrived. Tony and Xander dived into one, while Cordelia and Willow watched on in amusement.

"Obviously the bottomless stomach is a family trait." Willow giggled. Cordelia nodded

"Hey, we DiNozzo boys need a lot of nourishment." Xander defended.

"Exactly, how else do we manage to pull off the good old DiNozzo charm all the time." Tony grinned. Willow and Cordelia rolled their eyes and giggled, while the two guys continued eating. Once they finished their pizza, they finished off the half of the girls one that they hadn't eaten.

By then it was eight thirty, and Tony paid the bill, before leading the group out of the pizza place.

"How far away is this Bronze place we're going to?" Tony asked.

"A couple of blocks that way. We should take the cars though; it's a rough kind of area." Cordelia spoke before Xander or Willow had the chance to.

"How about I take Willow with me, and you can go with Cordelia?" Tony suggested, and Xander nodded, happy to have some alone time with his girlfriend. He trusted Tony to look after Willow.

Tony led Willow to his car and opened the door for her, letting his charm smile cross his face. Willow grinned as she got into the car, and Tony closed the door for her and got into the drivers seat.

"So, Wills, Xander been keeping out of trouble since the last time we met?" He asked casually as he started the car. Willow nodded.

"I've been making sure he's been passing everything at school, helping him with his homework and all that, and me and Jesse kept him from getting into many fights, or from being bashed up by the jocks."

"I was sorry to hear about that, it must have been tough."

"It was harder for Xander than it was for me. We were both lucky that Buffy was there. That's was the night I learnt that you live for the now, because in the morning, you could be dead."

"Aren't you scared about going walking at sunset, what with all the crime?" Tony casually asked. Willow pursed her lips.

"Sometimes, not so much when I'm with Buffy, or her boyfriend, but the rest of the time I am a little scared. I mean, you never know what's out there, or rather, who is out there" Willow hastily amended, cursing her slip up.

"Why don't the local Cops do anything about it?" Tony asked curiously, hoping for a local's opinion. Willow laughed.

"They ignore it, they think it's normal. Turn left up here"

Tony turned at the intersection, "Ant you say it's better now that what it was?"

"Yep. That's where we are going." Willow pointed to a building, surrounded by clusters of teenagers. Tony carefully parked and the pair walked to the front of the club. Xander and Cordelia were already there, so they walked in together.

The first thing Tony heard was the noise. The band up on stage seemed to be playing incredibly loud, even taking into account of his past experience with Abby's choice in music. The dance floor was packed with teens, their bodies moving together, boys and girls grinding together in a most adult way. Tony inwardly cringed at the sight, before he followed Xander and the girls to a unoccupied table. Xander went and got drinks while the girls and Tony sat at the table, watching the band and the dancers

"So which one is your old boyfriend?" he asked Willow, looking up at the teenaged boys on stage.

Oz, the one playing guitar, with the purple hair. It wasn't purple when we were together though. He likes to try lots of different colours."

"Cool" Tony said, grinning slightly. Gibbs was gonna chuck a fit. His daughter's ex boyfriend was the guitarist in a band and liked to dye his hair in strange colours.

That was so not a conversation Tony wanted to have with his boss.

"So, NCIS? What kind of work do they do?" Xander asked retuning with cups of coke for everyone. Tony took a swig of his, and began to talk, glad that he had an excuse to not try and learn more about his boss's daughter.

"Basically, we're the FBI exclusively for Navy personnel or Marines, or their direct family. Wives, husbands, kids. I'm the Senior Field Agent of the MCRT."

"What's that?" Xander asked.

"The Major Crime Response Team, which means that we investigate the homicides, most of the kidnappings, cases involving organised crime and drug rings. The Senior Field Agent is the second in command, behind the Team Leader, who in my case is Gibbs. Then there is another two people on the team. McGee is the Junior Field Agent, and Ziva is the Probationary field agent. McGee is into computers and is a bit of a geek, and Ziva is a former Mossad Agent."

"Mossad? Wow," Xander echoed, "Isn't that Israeli?"

Tony nodded, "Ziva has been over here for a few years now. She still mixes up idioms though."

"Idio-whats?" Buffy chirped as she joined the group, Angel following her.

"Hey, Buffster." Xander greeted.

"Hey, Buffy, hey Angel." Willow grinned up at the pair. Buffy and Angel both grabbed spare chairs and brought them over to the table.

"Angel, this is Xander's cousin, Tony. Tony, this is my boyfriend, Angel." Buffy introduced

"Nice to meet you." Tony grinned, shaking Angel's hand. Angel smiled politely, liking Tony's friendly attitude.

"Likewise."

"So, what have you goys been talking about? Anything exciting?"

"Tony was telling us about his job, at NCIS, and how he investigates homicides and kidnappings and stuff." Cordelia informed them.

"I've heard of NCIS" Angel said, nodding, "Are you with the LA branch?"

"Nope, headquarters in D.C. The less sunny option. How have you heard of us, not many people have?"

"I knew a couple of Marines about ten or so years ago, and they told me about it. What brings you all the way to Sunnydale?"

"Work stuff, my boss is investigating something that came up a couple of days ago."

"We don't get much Navy activity down here" Buffy commented, and the rest of the group nodded, all of them feeling as though the conversation was wandering into dangerous territory, though for different reasons. Tony hid his amusement. As a team, they were very good at hiding the truth, or at changing the topic when they felt they didn't like where it was going.

"Hey, Tony, wanna prove that Xander's bad dancing isn't genetic?" Cordy asked. Tony glanced sideways at Xander, who shrugged. Figuring that it was okay, Tony shrugged.

"Okay"

Cordy led Tony out onto the dance floor, and the rest of the Scoobies let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Okay, who's thinking Hellmouth related stuff?" Xander asked. Willow nodded, although Angle and Buffy looked thoughtful.

"We had a look around, asked who was about, seeing if there's been any cases of Marines going missing, but nothing came up." Buffy said

"I looked over the recent coroner's reports. There's been no Marines, or immediate family members of marines, or other Navy people, that have been killed lately." Willow added worriedly.

"It could be nothing, just, you know, normal crime." Xander suggested hopefully. Angel shook his head.

"If that were the case, they would have sent the LA team, not the one from Washington."

"By the way, how did you know about NCIS, Deadboy?" Xander asked curiously. Angel shrugged.

"I was in Washington DC about ten years ago, give or take, and I met some Marines at a bar, and they were a bit drunk, and told me about the Federal Agency solely for the Navy. Apparently those two had had dealings with them, when one of their colleagues was killed or something."

"I did some research on them last night, on the internet, and everything Tony's said about them is true."

"Did you hack their database?" Xander asked with a grin, his voice hushed.

Willow blushed slightly, "Not yet, I was planning on doing it tomorrow though."

"Be careful, Wills, they seem a bit more on top of things than the FBI." Buffy cautioned. Willow nodded.

"I'm always careful when I'm hacking."

The group fell silent, and Angel took Buffy out onto the dance floor, moving close to where Tony was dancing with Cordelia. Xander smiled when Tony brought Cordelia back after one dance, and proceeded to take her out for a dance himself. Tony glanced at Willow,

"Do you want to?" he asked. Willow shook her head.

"No, it's okay. Someone needs to stay here and watch the bags, and the drinks." Willow smiled, her voice filled with acceptance

Tony raised his eyebrow at that, and made a mental note of it. Obviously, Willow was very used to being the fifth wheel on nights such as these, and being left to look after the bags, and Tony could tell that none of her friends had realised that they were doing it. He sat down beside Willow and took a sip from his drink, his eyes scanning the crowd. He half expected to spot Ziva and McGee in the crowd, trying to get a glimpse of Gibbs' long lost daughter. He knew that Gibbs would have wanted to go undercover and have a look around as well, but someone of Gibbs' age and appearance would not have a hope of going un noticed in a place like this.

Sure enough, Tony spotted Ziva standing near one of the walls un obstructively, watching the teenagers on the dance floor with thinly veiled disgust. Tony scanned the crowd, and spotted McGee as well, looking slightly stupid by wearing teenager-ish clothes. He was eyeing a group of heavily built teenagers, that tony recognised instantly as Jocks, very nervously. Tony snorted.

"Grow a back bone, McGee, they're just teenagers" he said under his breath.

"What was that?" Willow asked, "Sorry, I couldn't hear you, the music is kind of loud "

"Nothing. So, Willow, do you live with your parents? Have you got any brothers or sisters?"

"Just with my parents, and they're away at the moment. I don't have any brothers or sisters. Xander's the closest thing to a sibling I have. What about you, Tony?"

"It's just me. I haven't talked to my dad since I was twelve, and my mom died when I was eight"

"I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it; it was a long time ago."

They fell silent once again, Willow thinking about how sad Tony's life had been, and Tony thinking about how sad it was going to be if Gibbs took Willow away from Sunnydale, away from Xander and her other friends. He knew Willow's type, Shy, studious, and generally quiet, and knew that Willow would find it difficult to make new friends.

In his heart, and in his mind, Tony resolved to be one of those friends, swearing that he would protect and help Gibbs care for the sweet, kind-hearted teenager that sat beside him, blissfully unaware that her world was about to be turned upside-down.


	9. Chapter 8: 28th May, 2007

Tony yawned as he parked the car at the motel, his ears still ringing from the loud music at the club. It felt like he'd been down in Abby's lab for hours on end with her music turned up the whole way, although the evening had been very productive as far as getting an insight on Willow's personality, and those of the other members of the group. Tony had driven Willow home, having known that Xander would prefer to go home with Cordelia, and Buffy and Angel had gone for a walk together. Tony had no concerns about Buffy and Angel, however. He'd seen the strength they both possessed, in the way they walked, and in the way they moved. Both of them were not people that Tony wanted to mess with. Buffy actually reminded him strongly of Ziva, only much more American.

As Tony got out of the car, he spotted Gibbs, who was standing up on the veranda outside his room.

"DiNozzo, get up here. Sit rep."

"Got it, Boss," Tony hurried up the stairs, locking the car over his shoulder. He walked into Gibbs' room and shut the door behind him, noticing that Ziva and McGee were already back.

"Did you have fun hanging out with the teenagers, Tony?" McGee joked. Tony smirked.

"Yes, actually Probie, did you have fun with the jocks?"

Ziva snorted, and McGee pouted, but wisely didn't comment. Gibbs shot Tony an exasperated look.

"Tony, back on track."

"Yes boss, I learned a fair bit. Where do you want me to start?"

"I want everything you know about Willow."

"Alright, she's an only child, well, you know, kind of. Her parents are away from home at the moment, and I got the impression that she's home alone a fair bit. She and Xander are close, and she did use to have a crush on him, but that's over. Willow was going out with a guy, but they broke up a while ago. He was in the band that played tonight, and he has purple hair, although apparently that changes on a weekly basis. She's quiet and shy, and studious, and is often the fifth wheel when she and her friends go out, although she seems to have accepted it reasonably well. She's a bit of a wallflower. She is very aware of how unsafe the streets are here in Sunnydale, but still walked to the pizza place from her house in the evening. She trusts the other kids in the group, and feels safer when she's around them, particularly the blonde one, Buffy, and Angel, who is Buffy's boyfriend."

Tony noticed the look of horror that flashed across Gibbs' face when he mentioned Willow's former boyfriend, but the older man quickly schooled his expression back to neutrality.

"Good, anything you two want to add?" Gibbs asked. Ziva and McGee shook their heads.

"What about whatever it is that they're involved in?" Gibbs asked Tony. Tony sighed.

"There's definitely something up, Boss, and it's definitely related to the crime rate of this town, but I can't tell what. It could be some kind of gang war, but then, none of them seem the type to be on drugs or anything."

"Alright, head back to your rooms, I want everyone up by 0800."

"Sure thing, Boss." the team said as they left the room, leaving Gibbs alone to his thoughts.

NCIS

Gibbs awoke early the next morning. He lay awake in his bed, his fingers itching for a piece of sandpaper and a rough piece of wood to work out his tension and frustration out on the hard surface.

Tony's 'undercover' mission the previous night d answered some of Gibbs' questions, but had raised so many more about Willow and her friends. There was still the big question; what were they involved in, and was it dangerous? Was Willow's life in danger, and if it was, from who?

Gibbs got up from his bed and stretched out, before heading to the shower. He let the hot water pound down on his back, easing the tension in his muscles, but doing nothing to ease the tightness in his gut. If all went to plan, Gibbs would be meeting his sixteen year old daughter for the first time today, and, although he would never admit it to anyone, he was nervous. So much could go wrong, and his gut was telling him that something big was going to happen that day.

Once he'd finished in the shower, Gibbs got out and dried off, dressing neatly, in order to make a good first impression on Willow. He checked the time and realized it was eight thirty. He got out his phone and called Tony, telling him to get the others and meet in his room.

Less than ten minutes later, his three agents were in the room with him. Tony and Ziva were sitting on the edge of Gibbs' bed together, while McGee had gotten one of the chairs. Gibbs stood in front of them.

"What's the plan, Gibbs?" Tony asked curiously.

"You dropped her off last night, so you know where she lives, not to mention she knows you the best. I'm going to take you with me so you can introduce me and make sure that she's okay before I tell her. Ziva, you and McGee have the day to yourselves, but stay in contact just in case Tony or I need you, alright?"

"You got it, Boss." McGee nodded.

"Boss, it's still a little early to be making house calls, though." Tony said looking at his watch pointedly.

"How's that, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked.

"We're going to visit a teenager who was up late last night at a club. Eight thirty in the morning on a weekend does not exist to those people."

"Tony does have a good point" Ziva agreed. Gibbs rolled his eyes and sat down reluctantly, knowing his team were right.

NCIS

At ten o'clock exactly, Gibbs and Tony set out for the Rosenberg residence, Tony giving directions while Gibbs sped through the suburban streets. They quickly reached their destination, the white weatherboard house, with the flowers in the front garden. It looked like a ordinary, upper middle class, kind of house, except Gibbs could see through the facade. It was too white, too normal, and too perfect. Whoever lived in this house was a perfectionist, relying heavily on the notion of perfection, of being seen as in control of every aspect of their lives. Gibbs felt a pang of guilt that his little girl had grown up in that house. Tony led Gibbs up the path to the front door and knocked on it. The heard footsteps instantly, hurrying towards the front door. The front door cracked open, to reveal Willow, wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

"Tony, Hi. What are you doing here?" Willow greeted cheerfully, though her green eyes were bright with curiosity.

"Er, we just wanted to talk to you for a bit. Can we come in?"

"Sure." Willow shrugged, stepping aside and letting the two federal agents into the house. Willow ran through a mental checklist, making sure she hadn't left any slayer related paraphernalia out. She concluded that as long as they didn't search her bedroom and find her supply of stakes, and the crossbow that Giles was teaching her to use, she would be fine.

Gibbs and Tony crossed the threshold, and Willow led them into the formal lounge.

"Take a seat. Did you want anything to drink? Coffee, tea, I have some soda if you want."

"Coffee is fine, thanks." Gibbs said as he sat down on the overly squishy couch, "Straight black, thanks."

"Cream and two sugars with mine, thanks Willow. Make his a strong one." Tony added with a smile, sitting down beside Gibbs

"Okay." Willow smiled, hurrying off into the kitchen. Tony and Gibbs waited in silence for Willow to return with the drinks, both of them surveying the room. There were no personal decorations in the room. No photos or childhood artworks of Willow's. No personal touches that would make the room unique. It made the room feel cold to the NCIS agents.

Willow returned with a tray, with two mugs of coffee on it, and a plate of biscuits that were obviously home made. Tony grinned and took his mug and one of the biscuits. Gibbs took his coffee and cautiously sipped. It was surprisingly good; he'd had a lot worse than this. Not bad considering the person who made it didn't know him

At all.

Tony finished his biscuit, and reached for another.

"These are good." he grinned at Willow, who had seated herself in a chair across from them. Gibbs knew that his senior field agent was working on relaxing the teenager, making the scene very casual, or at least as casual as it could be.

"Xander thinks so too. I've seen him eat almost an entire batch in one afternoon." Willow said with a smile. Tony laughed.

"Sounds like Xander, alright."

Gibbs smirked. Xander sounded like he was very similar to his cousin.

Tony swallowed his biscuit and took a sip from his mug.

"This is my boss, Special Agent Jethro Gibbs. Boss, this is Willow Rosenberg."

"Nice to meet you," Willow smiled warmly.

"You too," Gibbs managed, his voice suddenly sounding thick with emotions.

' _Pull yourself together, Gibbs,'_ he mentally berated himself.

"So, what brings you round here? I though you'd be off spending time with Xander, or working on whatever it was that brought you to Sunnydale." Willow said, her voice questioning.

"Well, in a way, we kind of are" Tony evaded, shooting a sideways glance at Gibbs. Gibbs nodded.

"Oh, that's, um, interesting." Willow managed, struggling to control her panic. Oh, she was in so much trouble. Tony had figured out that she was the weakest link in the Scooby gang, and now she was going to be arrested and interrogated about what was going on in Sunnydale. Willow gulped.

Tony and Gibbs both saw the panic that crossed Willow's face, and made mental notes of it, before she regained her composure.

"Anything I can help you with?" Willow asked, her voice slightly more higher pitched than normal.

Tony's phone chose that moment to ring, and her shot a guilty look at Willow.

"Sorry, it's probably McGeek or Ziva. I should take this. Do you mind?"

Willow frowned as shook her head, and Tony nodded is thanks before ducking out of the room and into the kitchen. The phone hadn't actually been ringing, but he had set his ring tome off so he had a excuse to leave the room. He leaned up against the kitchen bench and dialed Ziva's number. When she replied, he got comfortable, and began to have a conversation with her, one that would keep him out of the way while Gibbs talked to Willow.

There was no way he was going to be further involved in that particular conversation. Even a pack of hungry hyenas wouldn't force him into the lounge room before being summoned back by Gibbs.


	10. Chapter 9: 28th May, 2007

Willow watched as Tony left the room, feeling slightly uncomfortable alone with his boss, who didn't appear to be the most conversational of people.

"So, how do you like Sunnydale?" Willow tentatively asked, hoping to break the ice. Unusually, she left the ice-breaking to Xander or Buffy, so she hoped the question didn't sound too…bad.

"It's alright, more dangerous than I would like, but other than that there is nothing wrong with it." Gibbs replied.

"You haven't been attacked or anything, have you?" Willow asked panicking slightly. Gibbs shook his head.

"No, but we know that attacks…Murders, take place, and that the LEOs are incompetent."

"What are LEOs, other than people born in that star sign?"

"Law Enforcement Officers." Gibbs told her, and Willow nodded understandingly.

"Ah, that makes sense. Sunnydale isn't too bad, really, as long as you don't go out at night, and that if you do, you avoid certain areas of town." Willow quickly spoke, feeling more and more nervous. There was something about the silver haired NCIS agent that was un-nerving her.

"And do you stay out of those areas at night time, Willow?" Gibbs asked. Willow bit her lip slightly.

"Sometimes. I never go there by myself though."

"But with others. Xander, .maybe?"

"Xander and I avoid those areas when we're together, and when it's us and Cordelia. It's still too dangerous."

"What about when you're with Buffy or her boyfriend?"

"Yes, that's the only time we go into the dangerous parts of town, especially during the night. Buffy and Angel are a lot stronger than they look." Willow ansewered, before she realised who she was talking to, "Why are you asking me all of this? We haven't been doing anything wrong." She stammered.

"I'm worried about you, that's why," Gibbs said, and he saw the confusion was over Willow's face.

"Me? Why are you worried about me?"

"Willow, what do you know about your parents before you were born?" Gibbs asked.

"My father is a Rabbi, and has been for years, ever since before I can remember. My mother is a child psychologist, and they spend the majority of the year on the lecture circuit. They are world famous. Both of them are only children, and all of my grandparents are dead. As far as I know, my family has never had a connection to the navy." Willow said. Gibbs sighed and took a mouthful of coffee.

"Did you ever wonder why you didn't have any siblings?"

"My mother told me I was adopted when I was seven. She can't have children. I don't know anything about my biological parents. I was forbidden from tracking them down until I'd turned eighteen. I haven't told anyone, not even Xander. When we were little, we used to pretend we were adopted, because we both had crummy parents, and that our real parents would come and take us away, and we'd live happily ever after, but the whole time we were playing, I knew that for me, it was real. Well, the being adopted bit was, anyway." Willow spoke quietly, her head bowed, her long red hair hiding her face from Gibbs. Gibbs instantly knew how bad Willow felt for hiding such an important piece of herself from her closest friend. It was similar to the way he had hidden what had happened to Shannon and Kelly from everyone at NCIS

"I won't tell him, I promise." Gibbs solemnly promised his daughter, Willow looked back up at him and smiled.

"It's gotten better for Xander this last year, and he's so happy. He loves Cordelia so much, and they've been so good for each other."

"Tony will be glad to know his cousin is happy." Gibbs nodded encouragingly, "And what about you? Are you happy here?"

"Yes, I like my school and my friends, and my teachers, and I like helping out with the sl… researching I do with the study group we're all involved in." Willow babbled, hastily recovering from her almost slip up. She mentally kicked herself. She almost said slaying in front of a Federal Agent who was already far too suspicious about the Scooby Gang's night time activities.

Gibbs inwardly frowned, though he kept his face impassive. Willow had answered far too quickly for his liking, even if he ignored the part where she had changed what she was saying half way through a word.

"Why are you asking me all of these questions, Special Agent Gibbs?" Willow suddenly asked, drawing Gibbs out of his musing.

"You don't know anything about your real parents, do you?"

"No, Why?"

"I do. Your mother's name was Shannon, and you had an older sister named Kelly. She was eight years older than you. Your father was Marine, who loved them both so much; he'd die for them if he could. The day you were born, the 28th of February, 1991, He was away on a black ops mission, and was injured. He was in a coma for two weeks. By the time he returned to the states you had already been adopted out."

"But, what about my mom, and Kelly?"

"Shannon, your mother, witnessed a drug deal that went bad, and saw a man being murdered. She reported it to the police, who passed the case on to NIS, which became NCIS a few years later. The man that died had been a marine. Fearing for the safety of Shannon and Kelly, they were placed in protective custody by NIS. At that point, your mother was heavily pregnant with you, and your father was un-reachable, so he didn't know what was happening. On the day you were born, the two NIS agents that were protecting your mother, Kelly, and by extension you, were ordered to relocate your mother. It was standard procedure to move people in protective custody around a fair bit, and the place Shannon and Kelly were being taken was closer to a hospital, for when Shannon gave birth. You weren't due for another six weeks, but Kelly had been early, and Shannon had been told that it was likely you would be early too. While they were driving to the new safe house, a sniper took out the driver of the car, and the car hit an icy patch on the road. It slid out of control and hit a tree. Kelly and the other NIS agent died instantly. Shannon made it into hospital, but she was badly injured. She knew she wasn't going to make it. She ordered the doctors to try and save you. You were born a few hours later, when they realised that there was no way for them to save your mother. Shannon died not long afterwards, and the last person she talked to, the paramedic that looked after her at the scene of the crash, relayed Shannon's dying request, that you be named Willow Danielle. Willow for her favourite type of tree, and because your father's best friend was named William and he had died in 1990, and Danielle for your paternal grandmother." Gibbs struggled to keep his emotions out of his voice as he told Willow Shannon's story. He didn't look at Willow, keeping his head bowed, knowing that if he looked at her he'd see the tears in the innocent emerald green eyes, so much like her mother's that Gibbs was scared that he would loose control of his emotions and break down.

"W-what happened to my Dad?" Willow asked, and Gibbs glanced up at her. Tears rolled down her cheeks, clinging to her eyelashes, and dripping down from her face and into her lap. Gibbs took a steadying breath.

"Once he'd recovered from the black ops mission, he went to Mexico and killed the person he held responsible for the death of Shannon and Kelly, and of you. The hospital told him that you died when Shannon died. He through himself into his new job, a field agent at NIS for the Major Crime Response Team, the same team that had investigated Shannon and Kelly's death, and the drug deal and homicide that led to it. He's worked there for the past sixteen years."

Gibbs was watching Willow's face when realisation dawned upon it. She looked at him, her eyes wide and tearful, but at the same time analytical, and she was obviously studying him for any obvious features they shared. Gibbs watched and waited for her to be finished, letting her take her time. Patience wasn't a virtue Gibbs was widely known for, but when he felt the need for it, Gibbs could be very patient.

He didn't have to wait for two long. Willow's voice shook as she broke the silence.

"Dad?" She croaked out. Gibbs didn't trust his voice, so he simple inclined his head slightly. Willow obviously got the message, because she got up and walked towards him. Gibbs got up to and pulled her gently into a hug, keeping it tight enough to let her know that he cared, but loose enough that she could get away from it if she wanted to. Willow leant into the embrace, burying her face into Gibbs' shirt and sobbing, while he rubbed her back soothingly. Now that they weren't talking, he could hear Tony talking to Ziva on the phone from somewhere else in the house.

"Its okay, Willow, I've got you. I've got you back." Gibbs murmured soothingly into her ear, running his fingers through her long red hair. In response Willow snuggled closer and hugged Gibbs tighter. Gibbs smiled. Tony better stay where he was, or Gibbs was going to kill him. No-one at work could know about this.

If they did, his reputation as a bastard was completely shot to hell.

NCIS/BtVS

Tony let out a sigh of relief when Gibbs called out to him, glad that he would be able to move around the house freely again, without having to worry about accidently walking in on his boss dropping the bombshell of a lifetime on Willow. He smiled extra wide as he strode confidently into the lounge room, going straight over to the biscuits, and helping himself to another one, subtly assessing the situation. Gibbs and Willow were both sitting on the couch, and Willow had obviously been crying. The wet patches on Gibbs' shirt indicated that there had been some sort of attempted comforting on Gibbs' behalf. Willow was, however, smiling, and it looked real. Tony knew smiles, he was a master of the fake smiles, the masks he hid behind to keep his real feelings a secret.

Considering that he hadn't heard any screaming, or yelling, he assumed it hadn't been too traumatic for either party.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs said simply. Tony nodded, smiling.

"Going to go and find Ziva and Probie and spend the rest of the day with them and You'll call me when you want to get picked up. Got it, Boss." Tony grabbed another biscuit and hurried out, closing the front door behind him. He got into the car, smiling to himself, happy that Gibbs had found a member of the family that he had lost all those years ago. Tony couldn't help but feel jealous of Willow. Gibbs was a great father, so much better than any other father figure Tony had ever had, and Willow had him as the real deal. Tony knew that there would be no way in hell his father would go to the extent Gibbs had to find him if he was ever lost. Tony banged his head back in his seat, before he started the car and pulled out of the driveway, heading towards the coffee shop that Ziva had asked him to meet her at.

NCIS/BtVS

Willow watched as Tony hurried out, his mouth stuffed with biscuit.

"He's so much like Xander." She commented, and Gibbs shuddered at the thought.

"God, a teenaged version of Tony. He's annoying enough now."

Willow laughed, and leaned against Gibbs, enjoying being close to him. When she was near him, she didn't feel uneasy any more, but safe, and protected, and loved, and all the other things that her own parents weren't around long enough to give.

Gibbs was silent as Willow leant against him. He enjoyed the feeling, it reminded him so strongly of when Kelly was small, and had just had a nightmare, or when she was sick, or even when she just needed some comfort. He ran his fingers through Willow's hair comfortingly.

"Does Tony know?" she asked. Gibbs nodded.

"Yes, he was the one who told me where to find you. All of my team know."

"Oh," Willow said, not knowing what else to say. She and Gibbs sat in a comfortable silence, both lacking the conversational skills to strike up a conversation, and yet neither one feeling the need for any conversation.

"What's Washington like?" Willow eventually asked, her natural curiosity getting the better of her. Gibbs smiled to himself.

"It's cold in the winter, and the summers aren't overly hot, compared to here, and it's not nearly as humid when it is hot. The traffic is chaotic, at the best of times. The politics is a pain in the ass, and gets in the way of us doing our job."

"What do you do at NCIS? I mean, Tony gave us a brief outline, but he glossed over the details." Willow asked, hoping to gain an insight to the organisation her father worked for.

"NCIS is a government run organisation that investigates crimes that are related to people in the Navy, or their immediate family. I'm the team leader of the Major Crime Response Team, which means that I'm in charge of the cases that we get given. Usually they're murders, but we get the occasional kidnapping as well."

"Do you travel much?" Willow queried.

Gibbs nodded, "Most of the time we'll be in the area of Washington DC, but occasionally we'll head out of state to go to a crime scene, or we'll have to fly out to a boat and investigate something on there, or we'll head out to a training facility. There are other bases in the world too. LA, Rota in Spain, a couple of others in Europe, one in South America."

"Do you work with anyone other than Tony and the rest of your team?"

"Yeah, I work with Ducky, he's our Medical Examiner, and Abby, she's our Forensics specialist."

Willow nodded and fell into a contented silence. Gibbs however, had become curious.

"Tony tells me you're the smart one in your group."

Willow shrugged, "Other than Giles, or maybe Angel, I guess I am. I like reading, and I like school, and my grades are alright, so I guess that makes me the smart one."

Gibbs nodded, his gut telling him that Willow was selling herself short. He was silent, and Willow stayed where she was, contentedly leaning against him as he loosely held her. It felt good, to hold her and know she was safe.

He wouldn't fail his family again.


	11. Chapter 10: 28th May, 2007

Tony, Ziva, and Tim quickly cam to the conclusion that not only was Sunnydale incredibly hinky, but it was also incredibly boring. They'd visited the mall, and amazingly had all came to the same conclusion, that it wasn't as good as the ones they went to, although McGee had enjoyed the computer shop.

Tony had taken the group to the same Restaurant that he and Xander and Willow's friends had gone to the previous night, before McGee suggested that they go for a walk through the graveyards, and see if they could take some photos for Abby. Tony and Ziva had agreed, so they had driven to the oldest looking cemetery, figuring that it would be the one that most appealed to Abby's unique tastes. They walked between the scatted headstones, reading the writing on them quietly.

"I'm glad in sunny out. This place would be very creepy at night time." McGee said with a shudder.

"You scared the vampires and ghosts, and werewolves will get you, McSpooked?" Tony teased.

"Nope, just imagining how many rats must live in some of those old crypts." McGee replied with a smirk. Tony's smile faded.

"Very funny Probie."

"There has been a fight here, recently," Ziva observed, pointing to some scuff marks on the ground, obviously fresh.

"Maybe there was a fight over an inheritance, you know, not even waiting for Mommy or Daddy to be in the ground before fighting over who got the silver set, or something."

"I would have thought so too, except this grave is about seventy years old." Ziva replied.

"Ah, maybe not then. Probably something to do with that gang violence that happens in this town, although I've never heard of old cemeteries being gang battlefields before" Tony hypothesised.

"Maybe historically it's just been a spot between two gangs, and the fight over it, you know, kind of like a No man's land." McGee suggested. Ziva and Tony shrugged, before they moved on. They walked through the cemetery silently, with McGee taking photos of the scariest looking crypts, and the oldest looking head stones. Eventually, Tony broke the silence.

"I wonder how the Boss is getting on with Willow?' he said. Ziva and McGee looked at him.

"I was wondering the same thing. What was it like, to be in the house when he told her?" Ziva asked Tony.

Tony shrugged, "I don't know, I stayed out of the way, I mean, I couldn't hear what was being said, so she didn't yell or scream, and he didn't raise his voice either, though I don't think he would have, considering she's his daughter."

Ziva didn't say anything, deciding to keep walking. Tony and Tim followed her until they reached the end of the cemetery

"Probie, can you look up the cemetery records for Sunnydale?"

'Yeah, why" McGee asked as he pulled out his phone.

"I want to look up where someone was buried."

"Alright, just give me a moment."

"Looking for a relative, Tony?" Ziva asked. Tony shook his head.

"No, Willow and Xander's friend, the one that died."

"I'm in, what's the name?"

"Jesse McNally"

McGee entered the name and waited for the results to go through. He shook his head, "There's no-one buried in Sunnydale with that name, Tony."

Tony frowned, "I asked Xander's mom about it, and that was the name she gave me. Check missing persons, maybe he just went missing, and since it's been so long it's just assumed he's dead."

McGee re-entered his search, and this time hit pay dirt.

"Bingo, I've got a missing person's report for Jesse McNally, aged Sixteen, dated in late 1996, was filed by his mother when he didn't come home from a night out with his friends. LEOs didn't do anything about it."

"They didn't do anything? He was a sixteen year old boy, in a town with one of the highest mortality rates I've ever seen, and the police did nothing?" Ziva was shocked. McGee looked at his two co-workers.

"I looked up the number of missing person cases that are solved, and less than one percent of all cases end in the person being found alive. In over seventy percent of cases, no body is ever found, and the rest of the time, the cause of death is attributed to Barbeque fork injury to neck, wild animal attack, or gangs on PCP."

"And it just gets Hinkier" Tony said dramatically.

At that moment, Tony's phone began to ring loudly, and he quickly answered, seeing as it was Gibbs.

"Hey Boss"

"Where are you guys?"

"At the cemetery, taking photos for Abby. Some of the crypts are right up her ally"

"You guys done sight seeing for the day?"

"Yeah boss, we're coming to get you now."

"Good" Gibbs hung up, and Tony shook his head, already walking back towards the car.

"What does Gibbs want?" Ziva asked.

"For us to pick him up." Tony answered. Ziva and McGee quickly followed Tony to the car, not wanting to keep Gibbs waiting.

"I wonder if we will get to meet Willow, she seems to be a very nice girl," Ziva said as Tony started the car and began driving back towards the Rosenberg residence. McGee nodded in agreement from where he sat in the back seat.

Tony drove to Willow's house, and pulled up at the kerb. Considering Gibbs wasn't waiting outside, he killed the engine and got out, followed by the rest of the team. They walked up the garden path and stepped up onto the front porch. Tony knocked on the door.

"Boss, it's us" he called.

The door opened to reveal Gibbs. Willow stood behind them, smiling shyly at Tony, Ziva and Tim

"Come on in" Gibbs said, and Tony noticed the slight flinch on Willow's face, as though Gibbs had done something wrong, and filed it away inside his memory as the three NCIS agents crossed the threshold. Ziva instinctively began to study and assess her new surroundings, looking for possible dangers, blind spots, or other possible risks to her or her team, while McGee looked around the house, surprised at how impersonal it was. On the outside, it had reminded him of his parent's house, but on the inside it was completely different. No photos on the walls or tables, no displays of home made mothers or father's day presents. Nothing remotely personal decorated the room, and it made McGee feel weird. This wasn't the house of some suspect; this was the house that Gibbs' daughter had grown up in.

Having performed their instinctive scoping of the room, Ziva and McGee focused on Willow, who stood behind Gibbs, nervously shifting her feet. Although they'd both seen her at a distance the night at the Bronze, this was the first time they'd seen her up close. Although it wasn't obvious, they could both see shadows of Gibbs in Willow's face, in the way she watched them cautiously, studying them intently with those Green eyes.

"Willow, this is Tim McGee and Ziva David, the other members of my team. Tim, Ziva, this is Willow, my Daughter."

"Hi," Willow grinned weakly.

"It's nice to meet you, Willow." Ziva smiled politely. Tim nodded in agreement.

"Um, would you like some coffee or tea?" Willow nervously asked a short pause.

"So you have any more of those cookies?" Tony asked.

Willow smiled and nodded.

"I'll have some tea, thank you Willow" Ziva said.

"I'll have coffee thanks Willow." McGee said.

"I'll help you get them ready," Ziva offered, and Willow smiled, before leading Ziva into the kitchen. Gibbs led Tony and McGee into the lounge room.

"She seems like a great kid." McGee offered.

"From what I have heard Xander say, she's got a computer brain that could rival yours, Tim." Tony grinned. McGee almost let his jaw drop.

"I highly doubt that, Tony, She's only sixteen."

Tony laughed, "So? She doesn't need to have gone to MIT to be able to use computers."

Gibbs rolled his eyes at the younger men's banter, and swiftly head slapped them both before McGee could come up with a response.

"Shutting up now, Boss," Tony quickly said, sitting down in one of the overly soft chairs. McGee sat down on another one, sinking down into it, while Gibbs settled back down on the couch.

Tony noticed the couple of photo albums that were on the coffee table that hadn't been there when he had left. Obviously Willow had show Gibbs pictures of her when she was growing up. It would have been difficult for Gibbs to see what he had so effectively missed out on. It would have been difficult for any parent, but especially for Gibbs, since he had lost Kelly and Shannon at the same time. Sure enough, Tony could see the lingering grief in Gibbs' eyes, the grief that was only there when the former marine was thinking of his wife and daughter.

The sound of retuning footsteps brought Tony out of his musings, and he watched as Ziva and Willow came into the lounge room from the kitchen. Ziva was carrying two mugs, and Willow was carrying a tray with the other three mugs on it, as well as a plate that was loaded up with cookies. Tony unconsciously licked his lips as Ziva passed him a mug, before sitting down in the chair next to his with her own mug of tea. Willow passed McGee his drink, before picking up her own and her father's, passing one of the mugs to Gibbs before she sat down beside him on the couch. The team fell quiet as they quietly sipped on their drinks, nobody quite knowing what to day. Tony leaned forward and grabbed a couple of cookies off the plate on the tray on the table, before he leaned back against his chair casually.

"So, Willow, did you and Xander ever go out?" he asked.


	12. Chapter 11: 28th May, 2007

Willow hurried through the slowly darkening streets of Sunnydale, glancing nervously at her watch before shooting a quick glance over her shoulder to ensure that she wasn't being followed. She'd chosen not to cut through the cemetery that lay between her house and Sunnydale High, even though it would have cut a good ten minutes off the time it took her to walk to the library. Willow was fairly certain that it was still too light outside for vampires to be out and about but it was best to be cautious rather than end up getting her neck chomped. Besides, she knew that, in her mental state, she would never be able to pay attention enough to her surroundings if she did cut through the cemetery. Even walking to the Scooby meeting had possibly been one of Willow's less brilliant ideas.

Willow's head was full of thoughts. Thoughts about what she had learned that day about her biological family. How her mother and sister had died while in protective custody and how she'd been taken away from her father by corrupt hospital officials and prejudiced doctors. Willow was glad that the men responsible were dead — because then she didn't have to worry about her father seeking revenge or her own anger at the situation getting the best of her.

Willow had been happy growing up in Sunnydale with Ira and Sheila — well, most of the time. Xander had made it enjoyable and Willow couldn't imagine what it would've been like to grow up without Xander and Jesse. Willow guessed that Special Agent Gibbs would have been around a lot more, had he had the chance to be her father, than her adopted parents had been. Even only taking into consideration the way that he had crossed the country for the sole purpose of coming to meet her, it appeared that Willow had been raised by the less caring parents, who had ignored her plea for them to come home after Jesse's death. They had instead chosen only to send her an email, explaining that having the people you care about die is part of growing up and that what did she expect when she chose to be friends with such rabble as Xander and Jesse.

Willow realized with a start that she had reached the high school. She'd been so preoccupied that she'd just let her feet carry her there. Willow shook her head and hurried around to the back entrance door that would get her directly into the library through the stacks. Just as she expected, the heavy door was unlocked, so she heaved it open, and slipped into the library. She let the door close behind her before she hurried through the stacks and down the steps into the main library.

Xander, Giles, Cordelia and Buffy were already there.

"Willow, what's with the rush?" Xander asked. Willow flopped into a seat, gathering herself for the bombshell she was about to drop on her friends.

"Ah, no reason, no reason at all. Nothing scary happened. I just found out that why the NCIS agents are here, that's all. Well, not just, I found out this morning, and they've been talking to me all day. It has nothing to do with the Hellmouth, or at least I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with the Hellmouth," Willow nervously babbled, her voice getting slightly more high-pitched.

"Willow, breathing is good," Buffy gently reminded, crouching down in front of Willow. Xander squatted down beside Buffy while Cordelia and Giles watched curiously.

"Why is Tony here, Willow?" Xander asked.

"Tony's boss is my dad… My biological dad."

"You're adopted?" Buffy's jaw dropped.

"When did you find out… You never told me?" Xander looked hurt. Willow bowed her head guiltily.

"I'm so sorry, Xander. I was scared you'd be hurt, because we used to pretend we were adopted when we were little, and the whole time it was real, and now my dad has come, and I think he wants me to go back with him…"

"You've known the whole time?" Xander asked

"Yes, ever since I was about seven," Willow admitted. Xander pulled her into a hug.

"I'm sorry for making it seem like you couldn't talk to me about it, Willow," he said. "I'm sorry that I couldn't help you."

"It's okay, Xander. It didn't matter then. My real parents were complete strangers to me. I could have walked past them in the street and I wouldn't have known them. It's only now that I've met one of them that it means something."

"So, you're saying that Xander's cousin's boss is your father? Well, that is quite a coincidence," Giles commented, refocusing the topic.

"And he came the whole way across the country from Washington DC to see you? Wow, he must really care about you." Buffy smiled.

"I know, I mean, he's only known for a week. I know the Rosenbergs wouldn't come across the country if I needed them. I asked them to come back when Jesse died, and they said no."

"Bloody Americans," Giles quietly cursed, although they all heard him anyway.

"I've got to say, I agree with Giles," Xander said. "So, what did they say? What happened? Tony's boss looked kind of scary."

"He wasn't that bad. I mean, when they walked in and were all serious-looking, I thought that they'd gotten onto us, and figured I was the weakest link, or something. But then Tony went into the kitchen and was chatting on the phone and Special Agent Gibbs — that's my dad — started talking to me about what it was like growing up here and what my family was like. I told him I knew I was adopted and he asked if I'd ever learned anything about my biological parents. I said no, and he told me about my mom. It was so sad. She died the day I was born. She saw a drug deal that went bad and one of the guys got killed. They put her and my sister into protective custody and tried to bring my dad back, but he was off fighting in the war — I don't know where exactly — and they couldn't get in touch with him. They moved my mom to a different safe house because they were worried that I might be getting close to being born and the new safe house was closer to the hospital. Someone from the drug deal shot the driver of the car and it hit a patch of ice on the road and the car crashed into a tree. My sister died on impact and my mom was really badly injured. They would never have been able to save her, so they got me out, because I was still okay. The CEO of the hospital and the doctor who was in charge of my mom decided that I should be put up for adoption because they decided that my dad couldn't be a good father because he was a marine and I was given to the Rosenbergs. My dad was told that I died in the car crash and he started to work for NIS, which became NCIS a few years later."

Buffy blinked tears from her eyes, and Giles had his handkerchief out, polishing his glasses but discreetly dabbing at his eyes with it as well. Xander just looked shocked.

"But, that's so wrong, so… unethical," Cordelia protested. Willow shrugged.

"It doesn't matter; they aren't going to be punished, since everyone involved in the situation is dead."

"Did they catch the guy who caused your mom and sister's death?" Buffy asked. Willow paused.

"Well, officially no, because he jumped the border back to Mexico pretty much straight away, but my dad did tell me that he went after him, and, well, unofficially, he got what he deserved."

"Not that I condone murder, or anything, but in some cases…" Giles said, and the rest of the Scoobies nodded slowly in agreement.

"How old was your sister?" Xander asked

"She was eight. Her name was Kelly, and I look a lot like her, except she had dad's eyes and I have mom's. I'm the spitting image of my mom. My mom's name was Shannon… Shannon Gibbs."

"Willow Gibbs. It sounds nice."

"My mom named me before she died. She gave the paramedic that took her into the hospital the boy's name and the girl's name she and Dad had picked out, because she didn't know what she was having. The paramedic passed on the message to the nursing staff."

"So what's your dad's name?"

"Leroy Jethro Gibbs, although everyone just calls him Gibbs, and only his dad can get away with calling him Leroy. His team is kind of cool as well. They all came over this afternoon so they could meet me, well, Tony already had met me, but Ziva and Tim hadn't."

Xander grinned, "I swear Ziva is a Slayer. She's kind of scary… in a good way," Xander hastily added, seeing the look on Buffy's face.

"She can't be a slayer, there can only be one, well, two at the moment with Kendra, but there is not a slayer for every country in the world."

"Unfortunately, it would make my job a lot easier if there was." Buffy sighed.

"I think it's just her Mossad training. They're supposed to be really scary and intimidating. She probably could kick all of our butts, if she wanted to, well, except for Buffy and Angel, because they have, like, super strength."

"I won't argue with you there, Willow," Xander agreed.

"Tim's a bit of a geek, like me. He's even better than me with computers; he went to MIT and all that. He and Abby are the team's go-to people for anything more technologically advanced than sending an email," Willow told the Scooby gang.

"Who's Abby?"

"Their forensics expert. She's back at NCIS, but she made them promise to tell me she says hi. She calls me Gibblet." Willow giggled.

"Oh, I get it. You're Gibbs' daughter, so you're Gibblet. Nice." Xander caught on slowly. Cordy rolled her eyes

"Duh, Xander, even I knew that before you explained it to me."

"What's going on?" Angel asked, having crept in silently. Xander jumped violently.

"I swear, someone needs to get you a cow bell. Don't do that."

Angel smirked and Giles rolled his eyes, "Angel, please stop teasing Xander. I know you enjoy it but he's going to go on about it all night now."

The girls snorted as Angel chuckled. "Alright Giles. What's been going on? Any news on those NCIS agents?"

"Yes, actually," Cordelia replied while Buffy went up to Angel and gave him a hello kiss.

"The boss of them, Special Agent Gibbs, is my dad. He came across the entire country so he could come and meet me," Willow said. Angel's eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"So, good news, they aren't here to specifically investigate something Hellmouthy. Bad news, we're going to be the center of attention anyway," Buffy summarized.

"Nothing out of the ordinary there, really. I mean, whenever there is something happening in Sunnydale, you five always seem to be in the middle of it," Giles said, pinching his nose.

"But that's where the action is, Giles." Buffy smiled.

"That's all well and good when demons are involved. But when the demons are not involved, I don't quite believe your involvement is necessary," Giles replied. Willow grinned.

"Giles, it's the Hellmouth, the demons are always involved."

"Be that as it may, I do wish you all would focus on the task at hand, which at the moment is keeping Willow's father oblivious to what we are doing here."

"Easier said than done," Xander said. "I have a feeling that these NCIS agents are going to be a lot more immune to the old lets-ignore-everything-that-has-no-plausible-explanation thing that the local police seem to have."


	13. Chapter 12: 28th May, 2007

Gibbs frowned as he slowly followed Willow through the streets of Sunnydale in the car the team had been loaned. He was tailing her from much farther away than he usually tailed someone because she was looking around often, as if she was expecting someone to be following her. Gibbs was quite proud of the cautious way she moved, obviously paying careful attention to the world around her, although it was inconveniencing him at that point of time. It was better for her to be overly cautious than not cautious at all, especially in a place like Sunnydale where murderers seemed to be at every corner.

Not that Gibbs had seen any evidence of any murderers from when he'd seen while he was driving around the town following Willow anyway.

Gibbs noticed Willow change direction and slowed down, watching as she entered the school building. That was odd. What self-respecting teenager would willingly spend their Saturday nights at school?

Tony had said that Willow was smart and enjoyed school, but Gibbs never imagined it went this far.

The fact that there were a couple of cars parked around the school, including the sports car that he had seen his first night in Sunnydale dropping Xander off that apparently belonged to Xander's girlfriend, indicated that Willow wasn't the only one there.

Gibbs turned his car around and began to drive back towards the motel, not willing to get caught following Willow. He trusted Tony's judgment of Willow's friends and was satisfied that Willow was safe where she was. His gut was at ease, so Gibbs was pretty sure that she would be fine.

BtVS/NCIS

Willow walked beside Xander and Cordelia as they watched Buffy and Angel walking ahead of them while Giles trotted along behind the group. They'd decided that a group patrol was in order, so they'd all armed themselves with weapons from Giles' collection and then set off for a tour of the cemeteries.

It didn't take them long to find a couple of newly risen fledglings. Willow, Giles, Xander and Cordy watched as Buffy and Angel easily staked the pair of vampires.

"That was too easy," Buffy complained as she brushed the dust from her top.

"Don't say that Buffy, you'll jinx it," Xander hissed.

"Like, if there is a huge group of fanged goons coming up behind us, it would so be your fault kind of jinxed," Cordelia added.

"Exactly," Xander finished before realizing that Cordelia was looking over her shoulder. Willow, Xander and Giles all whipped around.

"Oh, dear Lord," Giles said to himself quietly.

Willow eeped as she saw the group of fifteen vampires approached them, a hungry look in their eyes.

"Er, Buffy? Little help would be appreciated." Xander glanced over his shoulder towards Buffy and Angel had been, only to find them a little preoccupied with another group of vampires. Frowning, he turned back to face the vampires that were approaching his group.

"It's a trap," he said in his best Star Wars impersonation. Willow and Cordelia looked sideways at him as though he had lost his mind.

"What? I've always wanted to say it on patrol at some point and you were both thinking it," Xander defended.

"Er, could we perhaps focus on not getting killed at the moment and you can squabble amongst yourselves at a later time when we're not all in mortal peril?" Giles asked pointedly. The three teenagers nodded and pulled out their weapons. Cordy was carrying a crossbow, a weapon she had only recently graduated to. Xander pulled a battle axe from the bag he was carrying before passing the bag to Willow, who pulled out a stake and a short sword. She was more comfortable with the crossbow but Buffy had told her to have a go with the sword — she might like it.

Willow swung it through the air, inwardly wondering whether her father had ever trained with archaic weaponry or if he just stuck with Marine issue sniper guns, and, of course, his fists when things went bad.

Willow shook her head and dragged her mind from its musings when she heard Xander jump forward with a yell, beheading the first vampire with a single swing. Cordelia sighed appreciatively before Willow rolled her eyes and jumped into the fight, quickly falling into a pattern that had become familiar over the last year of fighting vampires. Dodge the fangs, duck under their arms, stake them, and brush off the dust, then repeat.

Eventually, the dust had cleared and all of the vampires were gone. Buffy and Angel approached the group, having successfully dusted all of their opposition as well.

"Am I right in thinking that wasn't normal? I thought that vampires didn't work together in groups like that?" Willow asked Giles, who was polishing his glasses with his slightly dusty handkerchief.

"Not normally, but they've been known to. I think we should proceed with caution. It would be bad if any of us were to get injured when we are under the eye of Federal Agents, especially Willow and Xander."

The rest of the group nodded in agreement and they left the first graveyard, and walked towards the second. Buffy walked alongside Willow, Cordelia and Xander, while Giles and Angel walked together behind them.

"So, Willow, do you think that your dad's going to want to take you back with him?" Buffy asked. Willow paused thoughtfully before answering.

"I don't really know, but I think he's considering it. He's seems to be pretty worried about the mortality rate here in town and, well, he lost everything the day I was born. He lost my mom and my sister — that's got to have hurt him — and now he's found me, well, I think he's going to be overprotective."

"Overprotective enough to take you away from the home you've lived in all of your life, the school you've been attending for three years, the friends you've built up over the years, some ever since you were in kindergarten?" Buffy asked.

"Are you kidding? You think this is a bad thing?" Cordelia interrupted. "This is the perfect opportunity for Willow to get out of this hellhole of a town. I mean, what does Sunnydale have to offer that Washington D.C. doesn't? A Hellmouth? I mean, yes, all your friends are here but you know more about email than I do and then there are phone calls and that nifty thing where you can see each other and talk to each other on the computer, and if you get really homesick, you can always come back during school holidays."

Willow paused for a moment before she continued to walk alongside her friends. Cordelia did have a valid point. Other than her friends, Sunnydale had nothing to offer her, except the higher than normal possibility of an early grave. As much as she didn't want to leave Buffy, Cordelia, Giles, Angel and especially Xander on the Hellmouth, a certain little selfish part of her mind was telling her to get out while she still had the chance.

"This all might be a moot point. I mean, Gibbs might decide that Willow's better off here with her friends and do the whole parenting from a distance thing," Xander said unconvincingly. Cordy rolled her eyes at Xander but said nothing and the group fell into an uneasy silence as they entered the next graveyard.

The rest of the patrol was quiet with only a few other newly risen vampires out and about and they were easily dealt with by Buffy and Angel, much to Willow's relief. She knew that she was far too preoccupied by her thoughts about her father to be out patrolling. She was a liability and Willow knew it.

She found herself looking around as they walked from cemetery to cemetery, admiring the familiar houses and buildings along the way and imagining what it would be like to not live in the familiar environment. What was the saying, "Better the devil you do know than the devil you don't?"

Willow found it highly appropriate for the situation she was in. She knew that Sunnydale was very dangerous and what walked the streets but in Washington D.C., the streets were filled with a different kind of danger, one that Willow was much less familiar with than the Sunnydale kind of danger. At least with vampires, she knew what to do with them. Buffy and Giles reassured her that she was getting better with a stake and a crossbow every day but against humans, Willow didn't know what to do and she had a feeling that shoving a cross in their face if they tried to grab her would not be the wisest course of action. In addition to knowing how to deal with whatever was out there, Willow knew that, as best friend of the slayer, she was a target for all sorts of baddies whereas she wasn't exactly sure how many enemies Gibbs had and whether any of them would want revenge enough for them to involve his daughter.

Of course, Xander might be right and Gibbs might decide to leave Willow in Sunnydale since she was happy there and would be happy just casually keeping in contact via emails or a weekly phone call but Willow doubted it. Gibbs seemed to be the kind of guy that didn't go about doing things halfway and being a father would definitely be one of those things, especially after what happened to Willow's mother and sister.

Willow found herself gazing at headstones as they patrolled the cemeteries, wondering what her mother and sister's graves looked like. Were they well-tended and were flowers left there often? Maybe a toy on her sister's since she had been so young.

Willow found herself wanting to go and visit them, to finally be able to say hi to her mother and the big sister she'd never known she had. Maybe they'd been looking out for her, trying to protect her from everything the Hellmouth had to throw at her. Willow liked to think that they had been watching over her, as well as her dad, because it sounded like he needed watching almost as much as, if not more than, she did, given his job.

Willow found herself thinking about Gibbs' team as well and how hey reminded her of the Scoobies. Gibbs was Giles, the parental fatherly figure of the group, Tony was Xander, the joker who was also loyal to the team, no matter what. Ziva was Buffy, easily. She could kick the butt of anyone who dared to hurt one of her teammates, and McGee was Willow. A background player in the grand scheme of things but with the smarts and the computer skills to still prove himself to be important to the team's make up. When combined, the team were unstoppable, a solid wall between the bad guys, be they murderers or vampires and demons — although, really, what was the difference — and the innocents of the world.


	14. Chapter 13: 28th May, 2007

Gibbs sat up in his motel room, wishing he had brought some wood and a couple of pieces of sandpaper with him just so he would have something to do with his hands while he thought about Willow and the situation he found himself in.

Willow had about a month left of school for the year and Gibbs knew there was no point in him taking any action until after the end of the school term. After that, Willow would be on summer holidays and she would be free to do whatever she liked over the break.

Including, if her adopted parents were willing, a possible trip to Washington DC to spend some time with her biological father.

Gibbs smiled at the thought of Abby and Willow meeting. He had a feeling that the two would be good friends, especially because of their shared interest in science and computers. Tony and Willow were already getting along well and Gibbs knew that his senior field agent had already formed a friendship with Willow, which was something Gibbs was glad about. If he got Willow to come with him, having formed connections with Tony and the others already would make it easier for her to readjust to the move.

Gibbs knew that he technically had no right to take Willow back to Washington without getting her adoptive parents' approval, even though he and Shannon had never given their permission for Willow to be given up for adoption in the first place, so he was going to have to contact them and arrange a meeting, although Gibbs didn't think it would be much of a problem. Ira and Sheila Rosenberg spent very little time in Sunnydale with Willow. They'd practically left her to raise herself. Gibbs was thankful for the guidance provided by the responsible adults in Willow's life — the teachers at the school mainly — because he had no idea how Willow could have managed otherwise.

She could have so easily become just another statistic, acting out in an attempt of getting some meagre form of attention from her parents, doing something illegal and then getting put in prison. Even worse, Willow dying on the streets of Sunnydale because she was so isolated within the cold walls of the house she'd been left in.

Gibbs didn't know what he would do if he lost Willow. Losing Shannon and Kelly had been hard enough as well as the assumed loss of the baby Shannon had been carrying. Having just re-found Willow, Gibbs couldn't stand the idea of losing her again.

Gibbs thought about how Willow had gone to the school after learning the reason about why Gibbs was in town. In the course of the afternoon, she'd told him that she, Xander, Buffy and Cordelia, as well as Buffy's boyfriend and a couple of the teachers, were part of a study group that researched myths and legends and studied the use of archaic weaponry. Willow admitted that she had very little to do with the weaponry side of things but she did a lot of researching and reading in the group. Gibbs assumed that there was a meeting scheduled and was willing to bet that, by now, Willow's friends knew about their connection as well, which Gibbs was fine with. Willow obviously trusted these people and they were her friends. She would need their support to get through the situation that Fornell's bombshell had created.

Gibbs knew that he needed to get in contact with Willow's parents and arrange a meeting, as unpleasant as it was going to be to talk to the people who had seen fit to adopt Willow and then turn around and virtually abandon her in a town like Sunnydale with such high murder and missing persons figures. Gibbs knew he would have to struggle to keep control of his feelings and not hit them.

Gibbs realized that he would have to tell his dad about Willow. Jackson Gibbs would be wrapped in discovering he had a surviving granddaughter; he'd missed having Kelly in his life so much. Willow would also prove to be a good buffer between Gibbs and his father.

Shannon's mother would be thrilled as well. He would have to tell her too, although maybe that wouldn't be so bad. She'd probably sue the hospital but then, Gibbs was not going to rob her of the pleasure of doing it.

Anything to ensure that no one ever went through the same pain and suffering that Gibbs had ever since had thought he'd lost everything in his life worth fighting for.

Who knows how differently things would have turned out if Willow had stayed with him where her place was rightfully? Gibbs might not have decided to work for NIS, instead choosing to focus on his infant daughter. Maybe he wouldn't have gotten remarried so many times, or at all.

Gibbs knew he shouldn't be focusing on what ifs, but now that he had found Willow and he was reasonably sure she was okay, although there was still definitely something off about her and her friends and their actions, Gibbs just couldn't put his finger on it. It made him want to get Willow out of town even more but he knew he had to be patient; otherwise he would risk driving Willow away from him forever.

Gibbs hated being patient.

NCIS/BtVS

Willow sat up in her bedroom, leaning against the headboard of her bed. Her mind was awash with thoughts about her father, her real family and everything that she had discovered that day.

She found herself curious about the man who was calling himself her father and the team. She knew a little about Tony, from what Xander had told her, but it wasn't much. Willow reached out to her bedside table and picked up her laptop, opening it up and flicking the power switch. As it warmed up, she found herself drumming her fingers lightly against the keyboard of the laptop, eager to find out what she could about the group of people who — it was probable — could take her away from everything she had ever known.

As Willow was in the habit of doing, she logged onto her email account first, checking to see if she had any messages waiting. Much to her surprise, she had a new message from Ira and Sheila sitting in her inbox. Willow frowned and clicked on it to open it up.

' _Dear Willow,'_ it read,

' _We both hope that you are well, and are focusing on your studies. We understand that this is a busy time of year for you with your exams and will keep this message short._

_Due to unforseen complications, the lectures your father and I were planning on attending have been cancelled, so we will be coming home for a few days next Wednesday. We will be leaving on next Saturday._

_Your father and I are planning on spending some of that time in L.A., so we will not be disturbing your studies too much._

_We hope to find that you are focusing on your studies and are not wasting your time outside of school with the Harris boy and that Bunny Girl._

_See you soon_

_Your parents.'_

Willow swallowed nervously. Things had just gotten a whole lot worse. Gibbs was going to meet her parents. This wasn't going to go well. They were going to argue and Willow was going to be trapped in the middle of it all.

Maybe they would be nice and get it all over and done with while she was at school. Nope, that wouldn't happen, because that would be good, and when was the last time something good happened on the Hellmouth?

Willow picked up the phone that sat upon her bedside table, dialling a number that was almost as familiar as her own — even more then her own, really, because when did you call yourself?

"Hi?" Xander's voice answered.

"Xander, I need to talk to you," Willow said.

"Why, what's up? Are you okay? Is it Gibbs?" Willow could hear the concern in her best friend's voice as he spoke.

"My parents are coming back into town for a few days next week. A lecture was cancelled, or something. My parents are going to meet Gibbs. Gibbs is going to meet my parents," Willow babbled.

"That's not good," Xander managed to say.

"Very not good. I don't think Gibbs likes my parents and there's always the chance that they knew that I shouldn't have been adopted out when I was, so if they did know then Gibbs is going to be really angry and upset."

"Okay, Will. Breathe. I'm sure it will all work out okay."

"Xander, my parents, who forbade me from looking up my biological parents till I am 18, and my biological father, who I was taken away from while he was in a coma, are going to meet. It is not going to be okay."

"True, but you'll have all of us there to back you up. Me and Buffy and Giles and Cordelia and Angel. We don't care who your family is because as far as we're concerned, we are your family. We love you, Will."

"Thanks, Xander," Willow smiled, feeling much better about everything. Xander had always made everything seem better.

"Go to sleep, Wills. It's getting late."

"Goodnight, Xander."

"Night Willow."

Willow hung up and put the phone down, closing down her laptop. She was tired and, when she thought about it, she'd rather hear about her father and his team from their own mouths. Looking over their files was too impersonal and it was an invasion of their privacy.

And it really wouldn't have made a great early impression if she got caught. Nope, no hacking of the NCIS database for Willow.

Willow lay down under the covers, closing her eyes, and burying her head into the pillow.

It had been a long day, filled with many discoveries and bombshells, and now Willow needed to sleep and take it all in.

As she drifted off to sleep, Willow began to wonder what life would be like for her if she did leave to live with Gibbs in D.C. Maybe it would be good for her to spread her wings and fly away from the Hellmouth, away from everything, and start fresh.


	15. Chapter 14: 1st June to 3rd June, 2007

Willow paced the living room of her house nervously, glancing at the clock up on the wall. Her parents were due to arrive at her house in five minutes and she was scared. They were going to be furious that she'd talked to her biological father, even though he'd been the one who had tracked her down. She hadn't done anything.

And then there was Gibbs. She'd seen him a couple of times since Saturday with the rest of the team or just by himself. Just to confirm the theory, she'd done a DNA test, letting McGee swab the inside of her mouth before putting it into a little gadget and letting it scan for details. Then, he'd sent them via his phone to the lab back at their base. She'd been impressed with the technology behind it as Tim had explained what he was doing.

She was fairly sure that Tony had been laughing at the pair of them behind their back but that was quickly stopped by the resounding thwacking noise that meant Gibbs had head-slapped Xander's cousin. Willow had been alarmed the first time she'd seen it being done but the way that Tony and the others reacted told her that it was common and it didn't even hurt. Tony actually looked like he enjoyed it.

The more time she spent with them, the more Gibbs and his team reminded her of Buffy and the Scoobies. Tony and Xander were so similar it was scary and Ziva constantly reminded her of Buffy. Tim was kind of like her and Gibbs was a little like Giles with a lot of Buffy thrown in.

Willow wasn't sure what the real reason behind it was but she felt a bond with Gibbs. She felt safe and secure when she was with him. Loved and protected, like she'd never felt with the Rosenbergs. Maybe it was because of their shared blood, which she lacked with the people that had raised her, or maybe it was something deeper than that, Willow wasn't sure, but it was certainly real.

Willow was drawn from her musings by the sound of her parent's car on the gravel of the driveway. She sighed. It had been a long day at school and she was missing out on helping Giles do some research in the library because of her parents.

The front door opened and Willow heard her mother's voice.

"Willow, we're home," she called. Willow moved towards the door to greet her parents. Sheila gushed when she saw Willow.

"Oh, Willow, you've grown up so much. How are your studies going? I want to see your report cards so I can be sure that your grades haven't slipped. Are you still hanging around with the Harris boy and that Bunny girl?"

"Yes, Mom." Willow smiled. "How were your lectures?"

"Excellent. There are so many bright minds out there. Have you put consideration into which college you will be going to?"

Willow paused. "I've thought about it but I haven't settled on one yet. I'll see who accepts me before I make a decision."

Sheila pursed her lips but didn't say anything in reply as Ira Rosenberg walked through the door, carrying a suitcase.

"Willow, be a dear and help your father with the bags, would you?" he asked. Willow nodded and walked out to the trunk of the car. She eyed the remaining bags.

Considering that they were on tour for the majority of the year, her parents sure were heavy packers; Willow found herself thinking as she struggled to get another of her parent's heavy suitcases out of the car. All she could say was that she was thankful for Buffy and Giles' training; otherwise she wouldn't have been able to do it.

For almost the past year, ever since Spike and Drusilla arrived in Sunnydale, Giles, Buffy and Angel had helped train Willow, Xander and sometimes Cordelia and Oz to fight. They practiced hand to hand as well as some basic weaponry, like the quarterstaff, the crossbow and knives, before progressing up to swords and axes. Willow had also been shown how to use the tranquilizer gun as she was the one that stayed with Oz during his transformations the most. Willow had definitely noticed that the training had increased her strength. Xander had as well and Cordelia had definitely noticed Xander's muscles getting a little more defined. Willow had been grateful for the training, as it had made her and Xander less vulnerable when they were helping to patrol, which freed Buffy and Angel up more so they could focus on the harder-to-kill baddies while Willow, Xander and Giles took on the minions and those easier to kill.

Willow shook her head and lugged her parent's suitcase up into the house, begrudging the fact that, despite the training, the suitcases were still very heavy.

NCIS/BtVS

Willow nervously cleared her throat as she and her parents finished their dinner. She knew that it was time to come clean. Her parents were leaving the next day, having spent a few days in Sunnydale, and she hadn't told them about Gibbs yet. Time to bite the bullet.

'Um, you'll never guess what happened last week," she said.

Her mother smiled indulgently. "What happened, darling?"

Willow took a deep breath, "My biological father came and visited me. He talked to me about why I was put up for adoption. My mother and big sister were killed in a car accident. They couldn't save my mother but they could save me."

Ira snorted. "He was probably the one driving and he was probably drunk too."

"He was fighting in black ops. He was in the Marine Corps," Willow defended Gibbs.

"Willow, you know you're not supposed to talk to strangers. What if he'd been some lunatic? He could have kidnapped you. You might not be his. He could just be saying that you're his, unable to accept that his child is dead. He might be on drugs or he might have post traumatic stress disorder. Did you call the police?"

"Mom, it wasn't like that. He's a federal agent now from NCIS. I was never supposed to be taken away from him. The FBI uncovered it; it was part of an investigation into unethical practices at the hospital."

"It doesn't matter now, Willow. You're ours, that's all there is to it."

"But Mom, what if I could get proof? I've submitted my DNA for testing, for comparison against his. By the end of the week, we'll know."

"He needs our consent before taking your DNA," Sheila said, outraged. "I'm going to call this NCIS place and report his unethical practice."

"I would have asked you if you were here. I got him to call Anna and she gave the okay," Willow explained. Anna was her mother's secretary and, in the case of Ira and Sheila being out of contact, she had legal rights over Willow.

"What!" Sheila's voice rose an octave.

"She was reminded that it's part of an ongoing federal investigation and that my involvement should be encouraged," Willow said. She wasn't certain whether Gibbs getting her DNA for the FBI case was strictly necessary but it had worked and she'd wanted to giver her DNA so she hadn't minded.

"That's blackmail," Sheila said.

"Sheila, they're federal agents. They can do that. And it is connected to a case," Ira said soothingly to his wife, trying to calm the situation.

"But it's not right. They should have stayed away until she was 18."

"Mom, I was taken away from him illegally. He lost everything the day I was born. My mother, my older sister and me, the unborn child that his wife had spent the last nine months nurturing. She gave me my name. Willow, after her favorite type of tree and after his best friend William. Danielle, after his mother. You can tell he's upset by this. He seems so sad when he talks about my mother and sister."

"That just means he's a good actor, not that he's actually related to you. I thought I raised you to be better than this, to know when you're being lied to. It's probably that Harris boy's influence. Nothing good could ever come from that family. And that Bunny girl must be no better."

"Mom, leave my friends out of this." Willow snapped. "It's just me and my father and you two."

"What's this man's name anyway?" Ira asked.

"Special Agent Jethro Gibbs," Willow told them. "I have his number if you want to call him."

Ira nodded and Willow handed over the slip of paper. Her adoptive father got up from the table and walked over to the phone, dialling the number, while Sheila chewed on her lip angrily.

Willow tried to listen to her father's phone call but he wasn't speaking loudly enough to allow her to eavesdrop. He hung up after not very long and returned to the table.

"He is coming here to talk to us. He is ten minutes away."

Willow swallowed nervously and began to clear away the dishes, carrying them into the kitchen and filling the sink with hot soapy water. She did the washing up and was drying the dishes carefully when she heard the knock on the door. Both of her parents went to answer it but she couldn't hear anything that was said and the group went into the living room. Willow hurried to finish the cleaning up before she hurried to watch and make sure things didn't get too out of hand.

Gibbs had brought the entire team with him. Sheila and Ira sat on the couch together while Gibbs and Tim sat on the chairs. Tony stood near the doorway near where Willow positioned herself while Ziva stood near the window. Willow could feel the tension within the room already.

"Willow is safe here," Ira was saying. "Sunnydale isn't a big city."

"And yet the crime figures are just as high as the ones in the city when you compare populations."

"Her school is here. She has… friends amongst the other children. Willow's only a child; she doesn't know what she wants. And the fact that you came and talked to her without her parents being there is inexcusable," Sheila argued.

"Willow is 16 years old; she's old enough to make up her own mind. When would you have liked me to come and talked to her? I don't fancy waiting another six months before I had the chance to meet my daughter. If Willow is so irresponsible and unable to make her own choices, why is she left alone so much? You're both looking at charges of neglect. She's practically raised herself."

"And you would do a better job. You're a federal agent – you're likely to get shot or blown up or killed in some unfortunate accident, and then where would that leave Willow? Begging off the streets, dumped into the same system that we rescued her from when she was a baby? And if you aren't killed, you'll have to go away on some case or your hours are going to be so long that Willow won't be awake to see you leave in the morning and will be busy doing her homework when you come home and you won't talk."

"And not being in the same house, hell, not being in the same country, same continent, same side of the world, makes it better?"

"We are kept busy with our work, Special Agent Gibbs. We trust Willow and we encourage her independence and self-reliance by letting her live for herself."

"By neglecting her? At least if she lived with me, she'd know what it was like to live in a loving home, one where she's cared about and looked after."

"Is that what you want, for Willow to live with you? She might not even be yours."

"Actually," Tim interrupted Sheila, "she is his. The DNA test we did came back as being positive. Willow is Gibbs' daughter."

Willow found herself grinning at that, although Tony was the only one who noticed. He grinned back at her before they both refocused on the conversation in the living room.

"So, she is yours then. Fine, if you want her, take her. I never really wanted her anyway. I only wanted her to test my theories on anyway. An experiment. She was a good little guinea pig, I suppose. A nice little lab rat. Too stubborn and strong-willed for my liking though. I guess we all know where she gets it from now. Give me those damn papers and I'll sign her over. She's all yours."

Willow froze at Sheila's words. She'd long suspected that she was just an experiment to her mother, ever since she was about thirteen, but to hear her mother say it in such a callous, uncaring way. Her eyes filled with tears and she barely saw Gibbs' face look up at her in horror as Tony reached out to comfort her. Willow drew back before turning and bolting towards the front door, picking up her bag from where it hung by the front door on the way, and sprinting out into the night, slamming the door behind her.


	16. Chapter 15: 3rd June, 2007

Willow ran from the house, as though she was being chased by the most fearful of demons. In a way, she was. Her own demons seemed to pursue her into the night, as her mother's words danced around her head.

Willow wasn't sure why she was so surprised. She'd always known that Ira and Sheila didn't seem to show much interest in her, something which she'd always assumed to be normal, up until she'd seen the concern Joyce held for Buffy, the way Giles treated all of the Scoobies. Of course, considering she wasn't Ira and Sheila's biologically, she'd though that maybe they'd been so detached because they still held a desire for their own flesh and blood.

Now Willow knew the truth. Not only had her parents never cared about or wanted her, but she was just one of her mother's experiments. A guinea pig for Sheila to try out her theories of parenting on.

It wasn't fair, and as childish as it was, Willow wanted to break down and cry.

At the moment though, she was running. She was dimly aware that someone, probably Tony, or Gibbs himself, had followed her from the house closely, but she'd taken a short cut and used her greater knowledge of the streets to loose him easily. Also, the heavy rain that fell form the sky probably didn't help her follower

Willow slowed down as the burning in her legs became too much to ignore. She glanced around her surroundings, surprised at how far she had come. She knew where she was, and it was a long way from home. It was also, surprisingly, Nowhere near Xander's house, which she had thought was where she was heading. It was nowhere near Buffy's either, or Angel's, or Giles', or the school. In fact, it was in the middle of Vampire territory.

Willow gulped. Ever since she'd found out about the true nature of Sunnydale's night life she hadn't been this far from home, alone, at night time. Now, she was in trouble.

NCIS/BtVS

"No sign of her boss" McGee reported as he re-entered the motel room, shaking rain from his jacket. Gibbs rubbed his hand over his face as Tony picked up his phone and dialled Xander's number.

"Hello?"

The voice at the other end of the line was groggy, as if they'd just been woken up.

"Xander, its Tony, is Willow with you?"

"No, why?"

"There was an argument at her house tonight, and some things were said. Willow ran out in tears."

"When?"

"Almost two hours."

"Have you guys looked anywhere?"

"Ziva's got her house staked out, and McGee and I have been searching the streets nearby. There's no sign of her, and she left her phone at home."

"I'll check with Buffy, maybe she's there. If not, I'll call you back." Xander said seriously, before hanging up. Tony blinked. Xander had sounded like he'd aged several years within a few short sentences.

"Xander's doing a call around to their friends, and is going to report back." He told Gibbs, who nodded.

"I can't believe Mrs. Rosenberg said that. It was like she didn't realize that Willow was there." McGee frowned.

"She knew; she saw Willow standing in the doorway when she got there." Tony said sadly, "I saw her look straight at her."

Gibbs paced over to the window and looked out at the dark night, a scowl on his face. Willow was out there, in a town with a mortality rate that reminded him unpleasantly of a war zone, alone, upset, and confused. He'd seen the devastation on her face at Sheila's revelation, in the few moments before she'd fled from the house. It had taken all of his willpower not to hit Sheila Rosenberg at the precise moment that the door had slammed. Even Ira had seemed shocked at his wife's callousness as Tony had sped out the door after Willow, only to return a few long minutes later to report that he'd lost her in the dark.

That had been when Gibbs himself had stormed from the house; much like Willow had, signed custody papers in hand, and driven the car back to the motel in order to arrange a search for the missing teenager.

The team sat in silence for a few minutes, until Tony's phone broke the silence. The Italian quickly answered it.

"Hello?"

"Tony, no-one knows where Willow is. We're heading out to look for her."

"Whoa, it's way too dangerous out there. I don't want you guys getting lost as well. Besides, Auntie Jess would kill me if anything happened to you."

"Tony, we have the home ground advantage. We know this town a lot better than you, and we know Willow better. We know where she'll go." Xander protested, "Stay where you are so we can keep you posted on where she is. Ring me if she goes back to her house." Xander hang up, leaving Tony holding the phone to his ear.

"Xander? Damn it." Tony furiously redialled Xander's number, but the phone had been switched off. Tony scowled, and threw the phone onto the bed.

"What's wrong?" McGee asked

"Xander and his friends have decided to organise their own search party, going along with the argument that they know this town better, and they know Willow better than us."

Gibbs swore, "Great, that's all we need, another group of teenagers out on the streets. Don't they get how dangerous it is out there?"

"Boss, from what Tony's said about the group, I'm pretty sure they have a good idea of how dangerous it is out there." McGee quietly commented, before continuing to shake the rain from his jacket.

NCIS/BtVS

The Scooby gang scouted the cemetery, searching for any sign of Willow, although they all thought it was unlikely that she would go there if she was upset. Buffy was using her keen eyesight, and Angel and Oz were using their superior sense of smell to try and locate Willow, but the rain that poured from the sky was making it near impossible. Xander moved along behind the slayer and the vampire his eyes scanning the surroundings. Ever since the moment that Tony had asked him if Willow was with him he'd felt like his heart was in his mouth, terrified that Willow had been killed, or worse, turned into a vampire, that he would have to stake.

Having found no trace of Willow, the group left the cemetery, moving on, going further into the dark night.

NCIS/BtVS

Willow shivered as she trudged through the streets. Her blind run away from her house had worn her out, and now, as she walked wearily back, in the general direction of Xander's house, but ready to deviate towards Buffy's, Giles' or Angel's if she felt threatened, as they were all closer than Xander's. For a few moments, Willow dwelt on the thought of being comforted at Buffy's house, watching movies with hunky guys, and doing girly things like plaiting her hair, and playing with make up. Buffy loved doing that. Willow compared it to going to Xander's to be comforted, where he would hug her close, and they would watch brainless TV, and let their minds go to mush. Sometimes, Xander would play with her hair, although he hadn't done it in ages. When they were younger, they used to curl up together on Xander's bed and have sleepovers, but in more recent years they used sleeping bags on his bedroom floor, or they went to Willow house, since her parent's weren't home, and slept in the living room.

Willow wondered what Gibbs was doing. He'd probably be looking for her, although a small part of her liked the idea of him hitting the Rosenbergs for their callousness, although then he'd get into trouble, and she didn't want that, no matter how fun it might be.

Trudging onwards through the rain, Willow glanced around hoping that she would make it to Xander's before she was spotted by some vampire. She nervously opened up her bag and retrieved the stake she had stashed in there long ago, and a cross. Taking a leaf out of Buffy's book, Willow slid the stake up her jacket sleeve and tucked the cross into her back jeans pocket so she would be able to grab it quickly. The she hurried onwards.

She was about two blocks from Xander's house when she passed the park, and heard a low growl emitting from a hedge. She closed her eyes and curded under her breath, before she sped up her pace. She heard footsteps behind her, before she felt something grab her shoulder and toss her into the park, over the top of the hedge.

Willow groaned as she hit the ground, remembering to roll with the impact in order to try and lessen the force, and the chance of injury. She scrambled back up onto her feet as the vampire that had thrown her approached her, face vamped out, golden eyes glinting in the moonlight. Willow reached behind her with her left hand and pulled the cross from her pocket, subtly wriggling the stake down a little with her other arm. She held the cross in front of her as she backed away from the demon, glancing around her, looking for an escape route.

True to Sunnydale tradition, there wasn't one.

Willow wiped rain from her face, and gulped as the demon lunged at her. She ducked out of the way, stabbing out with the stake at the sae time. The stake plunged through the demons flesh, and it gave a shriek of pain. Willow let go of the stake and darted away from it, wincing as she saw the way the demon grasped onto the stake, pulling it free from where she had embedded it.

In it's arm.

Sure, it wasn't its chest where she'd been aiming, but you never knew where demons where sensitive. Willow was kind of proud that she'd been able to injure it at all. She backed up as the demon approached her again, this time only armed with the cross. This was so not looking good, so Willow did the most intelligent thing she could think of.

"Buffy!" She screamed as loudly as she could, praying that Buffy was within earshot patrolling.

Otherwise, this situation was not going to end well.

NCIS/BtVS

Gibbs heard the scream that cut through the night, scorching through the darkness.

"It came from that way" Ziva said, pointing with her flashlight. Tony frowned into the darkness as Gibbs thought for the briefest of moments.

"Lets go" Gibbs said, before he started running towards the scream; Tony, Ziva and McGee at his heels.

As they ran Tony pulled out his gun, holding it by his side closely. He'd recognized Willow's voice the moment he'd heard it. He had heard the fear and desperation behind the yell. Images of different crime scenes he'd witnessed flashed in his mind, both from his days a cop on the streets, then as a detective, and then as a NCIS agent. Every crime scene was horrific, but there were clear ones in his mind that stood out to Tony as the ones that he had nightmares about, the ones that lingered after the long hot shower that he indulged in after solving a case.

Tony prepared himself mentally for the crime scene that he and the team were sure to find, and how it would become one of the most haunting moments of his life to date, the moment that broke Gibbs forever.

So when he burst into the park, just ahead of Gibbs and the others, thanks to his fast running, gun raised and ready to fire at whatever sick bastard who had targeted Willow, and surveyed the scene, he found himself in complete and utter shock.


	17. Chapter 16: 3rd June, 2007

"Buffy!"

Buffy's and Angel's heads whipped around when they heard Willow's terrified scream, both of them racing off into the darkness within a moment. Xander, Cordelia, Oz and Giles followed at a slightly slower but no less frantic pace, soon being left behind by the two speed-enhanced members of the group.

Buffy and Angel knew that they had left the other Scoobies behind but they weren't overly worried.

They were more worried about getting to Willow. They'd both heard the fear in her voice as she'd screamed Buffy's name. Vampire and Slayer entered the small, hedged-in park at the same time, beholding the large demon advancing on Willow, who was backing away quickly, cross held out in front of her in desperation. Buffy surged forward, calling out to the demon.

"Hey, why don't you come and have a go at me?" she called. The demon whipped around with surprising speed, one arm hanging limp at its side, blood leaking from the wound in its upper arm.

The demon growled low and lunged at Buffy, who was prepared, ducking down and overbalancing the demon, throwing him over her shoulder and into the ground hard while she jumped back up, brushing dirt from her pants before kicking the demon in the stomach. Angel used the distraction Buffy was providing to cautiously approach the demon from behind before reaching down and snapping the demon's thick neck.

The demon's motions stilled as it died and Buffy backed away before approaching Willow.

"You okay, Will?"

Willow nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

"What the hell is going on here?" the very angry-sounding voice of one Leroy Jethro Gibbs cut through the rain from the entrance to the park.

"Oh, boy. Giles is not going to be happy." Buffy winced as the NCIS team entered the park.

NCIS/BtVS

Gibbs glared from one member of Willow's group of friends to another, looking for the weakest link as he and his team were lead away from the park toward the residence of the librarian, Giles.

In front of him, Gibbs could see Tony trying to catch Xander's eye but the younger teen had his eyes downcast as he walked side by side with Cordelia and Willow.

Gibbs thought back to the moment he had entered the clearing. The older boy standing over the… thing on the ground and Buffy standing in front of an obviously frightened Willow, checking to see if she was hurt.

Then, behind them, came the sound of running footsteps and Xander ran into the park, followed by his girlfriend, another teenaged boy, and a adult man that Gibbs recognized from a picture that Willow showed him as Giles, the school librarian.

All four of them had been carrying crucifixes, like Willow had been, which puzzled Gibbs, because Willow had mentioned being Jewish.

And then there was the thing that had been on the ground in the park, the thing that had obviously tried to attack Willow and been fended off when Buffy and her boyfriend… Angel, yes, that was the older boy's name, arrived.

Gibbs had seen enough bodies to know that there was no way in Hell that it was human. He didn't know what the hell it was but he was certain, even without Ducky being with him, that they weren't human remains.

The scales and the horns were a dead giveaway.

And then Giles, removing his glasses and polishing them with a handkerchief, had suggested that they go back to his house so things could be explained in privacy. Gibbs had been on the verge of declining, insisting that they talk right here, right now, when he saw the look on Willow's face, the way her green eyes, so much like Shannon's, had pleaded with him to go along with the plan. She'd already been hurt once tonight by her adopted parents; she didn't need to get hurt by her biological parent as well.

Tony, Ziva and McGee had all looked surprised when he'd agreed but had hidden it well, obviously coming to the conclusion that he knew what he was doing.

He didn't, but Gibbs tried to comfort himself with the thought that at least he and his team were armed.

Of course, there was no guarantee that none of the others weren't as well.

NCIS/BtVS

The NCIS team looked around the slightly cramped residence of the librarian. The five teenagers seemed comfortable enough. Willow helped Giles in the kitchen making tea and coffee, while the others got comfortable on chairs or on the floor. Gibbs, Ziva and Tony sat on the couch, while McGee sat on the bottom step of the stairs.

Gibbs looked around. There were lots of books. On bookshelves, on tables, a couple of stacks on the floor. They all looked old, historical volumes of some sort. Gibbs knew that Giles must have had a fascination with literature but he'd never expected anything of this magnitude.

Giles re-entered the living area and drinks were handed out. Giles went to a locked cabinet and retrieved a bottle of scotch, putting it up on the bench.

"Just in case it's needed," he said when Tony looked shocked.

"That so mucks up every image I ever had of the high school librarians when I was a kid," Tony muttered under his breath and Xander and McGee both snorted with amusement.

"Alright, why are we here?" Gibbs asked.

"You wanted answers about what you saw in the park," Buffy replied with a shrug.

"I know what we saw in the park. It wasn't human. There is no way that it was human," Gibbs protested. Buffy shrugged.

"That's 'cuz it wasn't" Xander replied.

"What you encountered was a Fyarl demon or, rather, a deceased Fyarl demon," Giles explained.

Tony choked at that. "As in, an actual demon?"

"Yep." Cordelia smiled cheerfully.

McGee's jaw dropped in shock and even Ziva looked shocked.

"And we're not crazy. We'll just establish that now," Buffy hastily said.

"Usually when law enforcement officers encounter something of the supernatural, they simply put it down to gangs on PCP," Giles explained.

"Or wild animal attacks," Xander added

"Or accidents involving barbeque forks and necks," Willow chimed in, cringing.

"You're saying that demons exist and that the local police force pretends that it's normal?"

"Yep," Xander said.

"The local police force is, shall we say, vastly incompetent at investigating. Of course, this usually works in our favor, as they stay out of the road, most of the time," Giles said.

"And these demons, they're dangerous?" Ziva asked.

"For the most part. Some are non-flesh-eaters and some are not dangerous to humans and can live harmoniously with us. They are, however, the vast minority, I'm afraid. In Sunnydale, that is, anyway. I believe in other places, it is much the opposite," Giles said.

"What makes Sunnydale so different?" Tony asked

"It is built upon the Hellmouth. A gateway to Hell is beneath the town and the dark energy that it emits is like a magnet to all things dark. Many demons endeavor to open it."

"And what happens then?" McGee asked nervously

"Well, the end of the world, most of the time," Giles admitted. McGee paled.

"And how do you know about it?" Gibbs asked

"We're a kind of a… um…" Xander faded off, not knowing the words to describe what they were.

"Vigilante, take back the night, kill all the demons kind of group." Buffy said for him.

'Yeah, that's it."

"The Scooby Gang, that's us," Willow chimed in.

"Scooby Gang… Cute," Tony said with a smile, making the connection. Gibbs and Ziva looked at him.

"You know, Scooby Doo?  Didn't you watch cartoons when you were little...Actually, never mind...I forgot who i was talking to." Tony rolled his eyes, wincing as Gibbs head slapped him.

"And you let six kids do this?" Gibbs hissed at Giles, anger thick in his voice, concerned for the teenagers in the room, especially Willow.

"For some of us, it isn't a choice. Some of us have to do this," Buffy said, scowling.

"Why is that?" Gibbs asked

"Buffy is a Slayer," Giles answered simply.

"What a Slay…?" Tony began.

"Into every generation a Slayer is born: one girl in all the world, a chosen one. She alone will wield the strength and skill to fight the vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer," Xander and Willow recited in unison, interrupting the Senior Field Agent. Everyone looked at them, shocked, and Buffy grinned.

"Wow, guys, that's kind of weird. Creepy even, but at the same time, incredibly sweet."

"We figured we've heard Giles say it enough times, we'd give him a break and save him the effort," Xander said. Giles spluttered and removed his glasses so he could polish them.

"I'm sorry, could we backtrack for a moment? Vampires?" Tony's voice cracked a little with nerves.

"Yep, our most frequent type of customer," Buffy said with a smile.

"And you… hunt and kill them?"

"Slay is the preferred term, you know, as in Slayer, but yes."

"And vampires exist and you slay them?"

"Yep, sort of hard to slay things that don't exist."

"I vote we don't tell Abby," McGee said from the steps.

"Agreed," Tony and Ziva said in unison. Gibbs chuckled.

"So, Buffy has these skills that help her and she doesn't have a choice. Why do the rest of you help?" Gibbs asked.

"Loyalty, friendship, enjoying being alive, wanting to help save the world, being patriotic… all the things they encourage in the American education system," Xander said.

"Jesse was killed, wasn't he?" Tony said quietly. Xander bowed his head and Cordelia looked away. Buffy and Giles exchanged a look.

"He and Willow were taken by a pair of vampires. I tried to go after them. Xander and I managed to save Willow but we lost Jesse. He was turned into a vampire. Xander had to stake him," Buffy said softly.

Gibbs paled as he realized how close he had come to losing his daughter.

"From then on, Willow and Xander have been my rock, helping with the research and with the fighting. Giles and I have been training them, so they know how to fight," Buffy continued.

"I'm still having trouble with the whole vampires are real thing," Tony said. Giles let out a sigh.

"Would it be better if you were to see proof?" he asked. Tony paused, swallowing nervously, before nodding.

"Alright, I ask you not to react violently, and guns don't work against vampires. Angel, could you please…"

Angel nodded and morphed into his vampiric face. McGee and Tony let out very manly yells, and even Ziva jumped a little. Gibbs was still.

"Angel is a vampire that has been cursed with his soul. He does not hunt humans, although he has in the past. Now, he helps us, using his knowledge, superior strength and enhanced senses to help Buffy with enemies that are too strong for us."

"Like the Fyarl demon?" Ziva queried.

"Yes. I broke its neck while it was distracted by Buffy," Angel replied, still in vamp face.

"Although, did any of you guys notice that I hurt it? I mean, yeah, my aim was off, but I injured it. It couldn't even use its arm," Willow broke in excitedly

"Yes, Will, you staked it in the arm, which made it easier for us to kill. Good work," Buffy said with a smile

"Well done, Willow. Fyarls are difficult to injure, let alone injure to the extent of rendering them less capable to fight." Giles smiled at the youngest member of the group

"Way to go, Willow." Xander grinned. Willow blushed at all the praise and ducked her head. Tony noticed the pride in Gibbs' eyes but knew better than to draw attention to it.

"So, how do you kill a demon?" Ziva asked and McGee and Tony rolled their eyes. It was such a Ziva thing to say.

"It varies between types, although there are some consistencies. Take vampires, for example. Holy water is like an acid to them and they can be deterred by crosses but to kill them, you need to stake them through the heart with a piece of wood. Sunlight, fire or decapitation is also fatal," Giles said.

"Garlic?" Tony asked.

"That's a myth. Due to their enhanced sense of smell, it's unpleasant to be around but it doesn't hurt them and it won't stop you from being attacked," Giles countered

"I used to know a couple of vampires who quite like it," Angel added. Tony pouted.

"What about shooting them?" McGee asked from where he sat.

"Only makes them cranky," Buffy shook her head.

"What about other demons?" Ziva asked.

"Usually, decapitation is the best method if you don't know a specific way to do it but I think that you don't have much to worry about in Washington D.C. I've been consulting some of my connections in the area and apparently there are very few vampires and demons there."

"How come?" McGee asked.

"I do believe the military presence in the area makes them jumpy or at least, that's what we think. We don't know for sure. It could connected to climate or the geography of the area or the politics, we aren't sure. All that we know is there are very few in the area."

"Well, that's a relief," Tony said with a shaky laugh.

"And you let kids join the fight?" Gibbs repeated, still struggling to comprehend why his little girl was in danger.

"Well, it was kind of a we'll do it with your help or without your help kind of thing," Xander defended Giles.

Willow nodded. "Yeah, and he's been training us to fight, so we can look after ourselves a bit better. He knows almost everything about demons, so we're prepared and most of the time we know what to expect, and we can strategize. He looks out for us and makes sure we stay safe or, well, as safe as possible when you're against demons that are big and strong and have fangs or claws or smell bad or–" Willow babbled.

'Willow, babbling," Xander quietly said, nudging his best friend. Willow blushed.

"Right, stopping. Thank you, Xander."

Gibbs was still frowning but he had to admit that he felt better about the whole thing knowing that Willow and the others had someone watching their six. If she was anything like him or Shannon and if Xander was anything like Tony, then it would have been nigh impossible for anyone to stop them from getting involved in the fight if Willow and Xander wanted to be involved.

Of course, his stubbornness was one thing Gibbs would have preferred Willow didn't inherit. No such luck, apparently.


	18. Chapter 17: 3rd June, 2007

In Gibbs' mind, the return to the motel he and his team were staying at was a bit of an anticlimax to the whole 'the supernatural being real' thing, to use Tony's phrase. Gibbs thought the comment summed up how he felt pretty well.

He couldn't believe that his daughter had been fighting those things for over a year. She was so young and yet had seen so much. It explained so much as well. The haunted look in her and Xander's eyes, the way that they moved, always aware of what was going on around them. All of them were indicators that the pair were veterans of some form of fighting; Gibbs just hadn't been able to see it until he'd gotten the full story, unable to consider the idea of Willow taking part in conflict at the tender age of 16.

Gibbs knew that Tony was in just as much shock as he was. For his senior field agent learning that his young cousin, who Gibbs could see being much like a younger version of Tony himself, was involved in something so dark and dangerous would have been like a kick to the stomach.

Gibbs wondered what Shannon would do or say, if she were still alive and had found out. Naturally, if she was still alive, then Willow would have grown up with him and it wouldn't't be an issue, but if she was still taken and had taken up the fight, then he wondered what her reaction would be. Probably one of shock, then Gibbs imagined her giving Willow and all of her friends hugs, crooning over them and how brave they must be.

Brave or foolish, Gibbs wasn't sure which one they were. In a time of their lives when they should be going out and having fun with their friends, dancing, listening to music, shopping, going to the movies, studying and just hanging out, Willow, Xander, Buffy and Cordelia were out fighting against opponents that were larger, physically stronger and probably better-armed than they were, saving the world over and over again.

Gibbs felt pride well up within him and wondered if that was what Giles felt after every successful hunt. Gibbs had seen the way the librarian had looked at the teens, the fatherly look in his eyes, the one that held so much pride in their long list of accomplishments but at the same time fearful that one day, one or all of them might not come back.

He thought it would be very much like him and his team, and although Gibbs didn't like it, he knew he wouldn't be able to hold it against Giles for letting Willow and Xander get involved.

His thoughts turned to earlier that night when Sheila Rosenberg's cold words had led to Willow fleeing the house.

He'd half been in the mind of arresting both Ira and Sheila for neglect but his worry for Willow had overridden that fact and he'd followed Tony out of the door as they'd tried to follow Willow, but they'd lost her in the darkness and neither of them had flashlights with them. Gibbs had returned to the house to tersely order McGee and Ziva to get their things together and to give his best of what Tony and Abby called his Gibbs Glare at the couple, who seemed to be at least a little shaken by Gibbs' reaction.

Gibbs knew that he had no jurisdiction over the case and his personal involvement in the case would make his team ineligible to investigate a child neglect case against the Rosenbergs. Of course, that didn't mean that Gibbs wasn't going to do anything about it. He had the custody papers and Sheila had, in front of four federal agents, signed away any rights she and Ira had over Willow to Gibbs and Gibbs doubted that Willow would want to stay in the care of a woman who had openly stated that she had raised Willow to be her own personal lab rat. The only thing that would keep Willow from leaving Sunnydale with him would be her connection with her friends and her sense of duty towards their fight against the forces of Darkness.

As much as Gibbs recognized what Willow and her friends were doing for Sunnydale and the proof that they were actually making a difference was the definite drop in mortality rate since Buffy's arrival in Sunnydale, he wished that she wasn't involved. It was too dangerous and he shuddered to think how many times he could have lost Willow without ever meeting her.

He didn't know if he could go through losing a child again.

NCIS/BtVS

Willow snuggled down in the blankets that covered the mattress she was lying on. The Scoobies had commandeered the living room of the Summers' house for an impromptu sleepover and now she, Buffy, Xander, Cordelia and Angel were all camped out on mattresses on the floor, watching a movie on the TV. Angel was heading home after it was finished as the living room wasn't sun-proofed, but the others were all staying. Xander's and Cordelia's parents hadn't minded them spending the night at Buffy's and Willow knew that Gibbs knew where she was and had seemed okay with it, although he had been a bit reluctant.

Joyce had been shocked when they had all come in and Buffy had taken her aside and told her what had happened to Willow, although Willow knew that Buffy hadn't said anything about what had happened back at Willow's house earlier that night.

Willow herself hadn't told any of her friends what had happened, her adopted mother's words still stung too much for Willow to be able to repeat them correctly.

She knew that she would have to tell them, though. Now, more than ever, the option of going to Washington DC seemed plausible. When Gibbs had first come to Sunnydale Willow had been opposed to the very idea of leaving the town she had called home for her entire life, but as she'd gotten to know him and his team and her friends had put in their opinions as to why she should stay or go, the idea had warmed to her.

Now that her mother had signed her away like she was a piece of property, something that Sheila was glad to be rid of, the part of Willow that wanted to leave was almost holding court in her mind.

Willow jumped slightly when she felt Xander bump her hip slightly, his concerned brown eyes focused on her. Willow gave her best reassuring smile but she failed dismally, her best friend seeing right through the act and wrapping his arm around her shoulder and pulling her close. Cordelia glanced at the action but shook her head. She knew how much Willow meant to Xander and, to a certain extent, she understood that sometimes, instead of needing your boyfriend or girlfriend, you simply needed your best friend or, in this case, you were needed by your best friend.

It made her a touch jealous, though. Not of the way Xander treated Willow, but of their relationship. Cordy could imagine having a best friend as loyal, trusting, and caring as Xander had in Willow or vice versa. She and Harmony or any of the other girls she'd been friends with had never been as close as Xander and Willow.

Still, Cordelia understood how much Willow needed Xander at this point of her life when everything was falling apart and reforming and as long as they toed the line, she was happy to accept it.

"What happened, Willow?" Buffy softly asked from Willow's other side.

Willow sighed and rolled onto her back so she was looking up at the roof. She could see Joyce pottering around in the kitchen, making up hot chocolates for everyone.

"I told Ira and Sheila that my biological dad was in town and that he'd met me. I got them to agree to meet him and I gave Ira Gibbs' number. Ira invited Gibbs over and Gibbs brought the rest of his team." Willow faded off, contemplating how she was going to tell the next stage of the story.

"What happened next?" Xander asked. Willow was dimly aware of Joyce entering the room with a tray loaded up with mugs of hot chocolate with little marshmallows.

"I missed a bit of their conversation, I had to do the dishes, but when I went to the living room they were arguing about why I should stay in Sunnydale. A couple of things were said about Ira and Sheila not being around and about Gibbs being a federal agent and how he was going to get shot or blown up or something. And then Tim said that the DNA tests came back as being positive. I am Gibbs' daughter."

"That's good, isn't it?" Cordelia asked. Willow nodded her head, smiling, but she could at the same time feel the tears building up in her eyes.

"And then Sheila said that Gibbs could have me then… that she didn't want me anymore… that she only adopted me because she wanted to test her theories out on me… and she called me a lab rat… a guinea pig…"

Willow burst into tears, unable to continue talking, and was dimly aware of Xander's arms tightening around her. She felt Buffy and Cordelia move in on her too, hugging her and telling her that it would be okay. Angel was there too, adding his voice to the reassurance, and she felt Joyce crouch beside her and running her hand reassuringly though her hair, so much like the moms did in the movies, like her mother had never done, not even when Willow was young and sick. Willow had never known how nice it felt.

Buffy, Xander and Cordelia all had tears in their eyes by the time Willow stopped crying. Joyce had moved away from the group, moving back into the kitchen, and she'd been dabbing at her eyes as she went as well. Angel's expression was sad and the four teenagers could see the flecks of gold in his eyes, as if there was little holding his demon back from going and doing very unpleasant things to Ira and Sheila Rosenberg.

Xander was feeling much the same way. He wanted nothing more than to go to the Rosenbergs' residence and doing his own unpleasant things to them, mostly using his fists. It was really only the fact that Willow needed him here, with her that he wasn't on the way there right now. He knew that he shouldn't feel that way but hey, he was human and nobody said humans were perfect. It was also Xander's less human counterparts that wanted to do some damage. The hyena within Xander, left over from the fateful zoo trip hyena possession, saw Willow as a member of its pack and seeing her upset like this and knowing that her adopted parents had caused her this hurt was making the hyena thirst for the blood of Ira and Sheila. Soldier Boy, on the other hand, saw Willow as a fellow man-in-arms, a sort of commanding officer figure, since she'd been the one taking charge that night, ordering him not to shoot the children in costume. While the soldier wasn't quite as violent as the hyena, it was still a pretty compelling urge, in the back of Xander's mind, to go a practice his hand-to-hand skills.

Buffy hated the Slayer rule that banned her from hurting humans. At that moment, she wanted to go and beat something, preferably Sheila Rosenberg for being a bitch. It was probably a good thing that Willow needed her here; otherwise Buffy would probably snuck out and gone slaying, and Buffy would be the first to admit that she definitely wasn't focused enough to go out patrolling at that point of time.

"We should have a shovel speech for parents," Xander said and Buffy, Willow and Cordelia all snorted in amusement and Angel shot a thankful look at Xander. He might not always like the younger man but he was very good at lightening the situation. Xander acknowledged the gesture and nothing more was said between the two males, having reached an understanding of sorts.

Willow sighed comfortably as she picked up her mug of hot chocolate and drank some. It had cooled a little but it was still nice and hot. She glanced around at her friends and smiled sadly, realizing that none of them had made the connection with what she had said.

"Guys, Sheila signed her and Ira's parental rights over to Gibbs."

"What does that mean?" Buffy asked.

"It means Gibbs is now my legal guardian and, well, that kind of means that I'm probably moving to Washington D.C." A stunned silence seemed to fill the room at Willow's statement as the news sunk in.

The Scooby gang was going to lose one of its most loved members.


	19. Chapter 18: 3rd June, 2007

Willow lay awake on the air mattress, dimly aware of the sleeping bodies of Buffy, Xander and Cordelia around her. One by one, the sound of their breathing had evened out as they fell asleep but even after the traumatic evening she'd experienced, Willow wasn't tired. She gazed up at the ceiling of the living room of the Summers' house, frowning thoughtfully.

She wondered what kind of house Gibbs had. He'd told her that he liked building boats with his own hands and used his basement as a sort of workshop, so she figured he must have a house somewhere, which would be similar to the house she'd grown up in.

She wondered what the house would look like. Gibbs was a practical kind of guy, so she knew it would be kind of basic, but she didn't mind that. Maybe he had made some of the furniture between his boats. Maybe Gibbs would teach her. She already knew how to make stakes, although Xander was better at it than she was since he often spent time making stakes when she and Giles were researching, but she knew how to do it.

Willow rolled over so she was facing Xander, or rather the back of Xander's head. She was going to miss him a lot. He'd always been there for her, but on the same note, Cordelia was right. There were always phone calls and emails. Although he wasn't a hacker, Xander knew how to type and send an email. So did Buffy, and between them and Cordelia, Giles would be covered for ways to contact her if he wanted to.

She thought back to when they'd all been at Giles's house, the Scoobies and the NCIS team after the bombshells had finished falling. Willow had been avoiding the gaze of everyone, knowing that at least Xander, Buffy, Gibbs and Tony were actively trying to catch her eyes, trying to reassure her.

Or maybe, in at least Gibbs' case, trying to reassure himself that she was okay. He'd been horrified at first and then he became angry at Giles for letting her, Cordelia and Xander participate in the fight against the vampires.

Willow guessed that it was to be expected, really. Gibbs was going to be very overprotective of her, just because of the nature by which her mother and sister died. Finding out that her… extracurricular activities involved fighting of demons that, in the majority of cases, were larger, stronger and faster than Willow was and in many cases wanted nothing more than to chomp down on her neck and drain her of her blood. She was surprised Gibbs hadn't reacted more to the bombshell that she and her friends had been hiding, although she expected shock might have played a role in that.

Eventually though, she hadn't been able to avoid her father. As the Scooby gang had gotten up to leave and the NCIS team followed them out, Gibbs had gently taken Willow aside. Xander had shot a look at Willow but she'd gestured that she was fine, so he had walked away a little, giving the father and daughter some privacy.

"I never meant for this to happen this way," Gibbs had said. "I never meant for Sheila to hurt you like that."

Willow had shaken her head. "I know. I'm kind of not surprised, I've always kind of expected that, you know, there was an ulterior motive, I just didn't expect her to come out and say it."

Gibbs frowned and tucked a strand of Willow's long red hair behind her ear before pulling her into a gentle hug.

"She signed the custody papers I had. That means that from now until you turn 18, I'm responsible for you. You're never going to get left alone like that… Neglected like that ever again, I promise. As long as I'm alive, I'm never going to stop caring about you."

"I know," Willow managed weakly but inside her chest, her heart was singing. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been held close like this and spoken to like that, by either of the Rosenbergs, and she'd never felt so safe as she did at that moment, wrapped up in her father's arms. This was where she belonged.

Even at the memory, Willow teared up where she lay in Buffy's living room, stiffening when she heard Cordelia groan and roll over before she fell back to sleep.

Deep down, Willow knew in her heart that she needed to leave Sunnydale and go back to Washington, to get the chance to know what her life would have been like had she not been taken away from the only family that had ever really loved her the day she'd been born.

NCIS/BtVS

In his motel room, Gibbs frowned thoughtfully as he reflected on what he had learned in the last eight or so hours.

Firstly, Sheila and Ira Rosenberg were horrible parents and Gibbs was struggling to fight the urge to go and give them a visit where he could confront them about the way they'd treated Willow throughout her entire life. Gibbs wanted to arrest them for child neglect, among other things, but he knew he had no jurisdiction and from what he'd heard, the local police were incompetent and corrupt. When he got back to NCIS though, Gibbs was certain that he could have a quiet conversation with Fornell that would make the FBI very interested in investigating Ira and Sheila. Fornell, after all, was a father as well and hated child abusers just as much as Gibbs. Also, doing this would allow him to spend more time getting to know Willow, rather than him having to spend his time investigating her parents. They weren't worth it.

Secondly, the supernatural existed. Tony's childish fear of vampires, born from his mother's obscure taste in bedroom furniture, was quite reasonably well founded, as well as Abby's fixation with the undead. Gibbs privately agreed with McGee's suggestion that Abby wasn't told about it, as Gibbs wasn't sure whether Abby would understand how dangerous the supernatural world was, even comparing it to how dangerous their lives already were.

Thirdly, Willow knew about the supernatural and had been fighting it for the last eighteen months. She'd lost one of her best friends to a vampire and had almost been killed on several occasions. She'd almost been killed that very night by the large demon that Angel had killed. His little girl had been learning to fight and how to use weapons ever since she was fifteen. She was best friends with a girl who was destined to fight these forces and would probably be lucky to make it to her twentieth birthday. Willow spent her free time reading texts on demons, prophecies and magic, searching through occult websites looking for clues as to what the next big thing coming to attempt to open the Hellmouth might be. Every night Willow fought demons that, in the majority of cases, were larger, stronger and faster than Willow was and in many cases wanted nothing more than to chomp down on her neck and drain her of her blood or they had some plot for world domination that involved opening up the gateway to hell and Willow was in the way of that. She had a target on her back because of what she fought for and who she was friends with, and there were beings out there who would think nothing of killing the slayer's best friend, just to get her attention and to prove a point.

And fourthly, last but certainly not least, there was no was no way in HELL that Gibbs was going to leave his daughter in Sunnydale any longer than strictly necessary. The minute the school term was over and Willow had said goodbye to her 'parents' and to her friends, he was taking her back to Washington with him.

Gibbs was pretty sure that, after what had happened tonight with her parents, Willow would be happy to go with him. Of course, she would miss her friends but Gibbs had no objections to Willow staying in contact with Buffy, Xander and the others. They had all proven themselves to be loyal, trustworthy and protective of one another. They were all good friends and Gibbs was glad that Willow had found such a good group of people to fit into.

Maybe it was because their friendships were, for the most part, born from banding together in a time of war (Willow and Xander being the exception), the Scooby gang as they called themselves reminded Gibbs very much of a unit in the Marine Corps. They looked out for one another and they had each other's six. They would never leave a group member behind.

Gibbs knew that Willow was never going to be able to forget Sunnydale, no matter how much she enjoyed living with him in Washington D.C. Willow would probably always be involved in some way in the supernatural world and would always have a connection to individuals whom remained in that world. She was a veteran of war and would never get over that. She was always going to be vigilant of her surroundings, avoiding shadows and cautious of strangers, just like him and all the other marines Gibbs had served with that had come back home.

Of course, it might not be noticeable to the untrained eye. Being away from Sunnydale, which apparently was a hotspot for supernatural activity, might lessen the reactions though, allowing Willow to continue to live a slightly more normal life that she would have already.

Gibbs sighed, glad that Fornell had told him about Willow, that he'd been able to come, and remove his daughter from such a dangerous situation. The more time he spent with her, the more certain Gibbs was that Willow would be able to settle down in Washington with him.

Connection to the supernatural aside, he was pretty sure that Willow and Abby would get along well. He could imagine them and McGee, babbling about computers for hours on end, leaving everyone else completely confused as to what on earth they were talking about.

Gibbs could easily see Willow becoming very much like a younger sister to Tony, McGee and Ziva, a little like Abby was. The foundations for it were already laid down with Willow's connection to Tony's cousin. He'd seen the way his team had reacted when they'd heard Willow scream, racing off to try and save her, all of them doubtlessly thinking of the horrific mortality rate Sunnydale possessed.

Whether Willow was aware of it or not, she had already been firmly included in the small family unit that was Gibbs' team and there was little she could do about it.

NCIS/BtVS

Tony checked that the door of the motel room he was sharing with McGee was firmly shut and locked before he glanced over at McGee, who was checking the windows for any cracks that might allow anything demonic inside. McGee glanced at Tony and nodded, obviously satisfied that nothing was going to get in. Tony nodded in response, trusting McGee's judgment, and moved over to his bed, resisting the urge to check underneath for any monsters that might be dwelling there.

"So, big day, huh?" McGee said as the two men slid into their separate beds.

"Yeah, lots of… unexpected developments," Tony replied.

"How do you think Willow's going to go with moving in with Gibbs?"

"I think she'll be fine. He's going to look after her, and she needs someone to look after her. It's not like her parents ever did." Tony tried to keep the resentment out of his voice. Willow's neglectful upbringing had reminded him forcibly of his own troubled childhood.

"You okay, Tony?"

"I'm fine, Probie," Tony said and McGee knew not to say anymore.

"At least there's one good thing about this place being Vampire-ville," McGee said jokingly. Tony snorted.

"What's that?"

"At least none of those crypts are going to have rats in them. They'll have all been killed and eaten by the vampires and demons." McGee laughed. Tony glared at McGee.

"Hahaha, very funny."

McGee chuckled for a little before Tony turned the light off, plunging the room into darkness. The pair lay in silence for awhile, neither one making a noise, both listening intently for the sound of footsteps outside their room or scratching on the glass, their own fears playing games with them as they jumped at the smallest noise.

It was going to be a long night.


	20. Chapter 19: 4th June 2007

Willow lifted her head sleepily as the smell of pancakes wafted up her nose. Beside her, she heard Xander yawn, muttering something about evil clowns, before yawning again.

On her other side, Buffy was struggling free of her blankets, yawning sleepily.

"Morning, Will," the blonde slayer greeted. Willow nodded.

"Good morning. Buffy? Do you know what time it is?"

"About 8," Joyce answered from the doorway, smiling as she surveyed the teens. Cordelia and Xander were in the process of sitting up as well.

"Something smells good." Xander grinned, stretching his arms. Joyce smiled at the boy who was like her son.

"I thought you might like some breakfast. I know how much you all like eating."

"We never say no to food," Xander agreed as Willow crawled clear of her bedding and got up, heading to the downstairs bathroom.

Once she was finished in there, she let herself out, heading into the kitchen where the others were all sitting down, ready for some pancakes. Willow sat beside Buffy and accepted the glass of orange juice that her friend offered her.

Joyce carried over the plates of pancakes that she had made before sitting down with the teenagers. Willow poured some maple syrup over the pancakes before she tucked in, smiling as she chewed on the breakfast treat.

She looked from Buffy to Joyce, then at Xander and Cordelia. She was going to miss them but Willow couldn't think of a better way to begin her final weeks in Sunnydale than a breakfast with her closest friends and the woman who had become like her second mother.

"You okay, Willow?" Joyce asked. Willow hesitated before she replied.

"Yeah, I think everything's going to be okay."

Everyone at the table knew what Willow was referring to but none of them wanted to bring it up. It hurt them all to think of Willow leaving Sunnydale.

Even Cordelia was going to miss the small redhead. Sure, they'd never been friends but there was an unspoken understanding between them, centered on making sure Xander was happy.

Joyce glanced worriedly at Willow before she nodded and went back to eating. She was still concerned about the young red head after what she'd gone through in the last week. Buffy had told her what had happened with Gibbs' arrival and the resulting bombshell for Willow. Now, it appeared that Willow was going to be leaving Sunnydale to go with her father back to his home on the other side of the country. Joyce had mixed feelings about it. She was sad that Buffy was going to lose her best friend to distance, although they were doubtlessly going to stay in touch, but at the same time she was glad that Willow had the opportunity to get out of her home and to have the chance to be cared for by someone who actually gave a damn.

Ira and Sheila Rosenberg were nice enough people, Joyce guessed, but they never seemed to be around when Willow needed them. When Joyce looked at Willow all she could see was the young teenaged girl so desperately looking for someone who would look after her and love her, someone who would give her the attention she so desperately needed. She knew that she tried to help the girl and that Rupert Giles had taken her under his wing, supporting her through their shared love of books, but Joyce knew that nothing she or Rupert could do would be enough to give Willow the confidence, support and self-esteem that she would need as she became an adult. Hopefully, being reunited with her biological father would be just what Willow needed.

Glancing at the other teens at the table, she knew they were facing a similar dilemma, whether to be happy for Willow or sad that she was going to leave them.

NCIS/BtVS

The Scoobies were lounging in Buffy's living room, watching some cartoons on the TV. Cordelia had left, having to go home and do something with her parents, but she'd suggested that they go to the bronze that night. Xander and Buffy had readily agreed and Willow hadn't minded what they did, so they arranged to meet.

Buffy, Willow and Xander were distracted when they heard Xander's phone go off. Xander frowned, pulling the piece of technology form his pocket and looking at the screen.

"It's Tony," he told the two girls with a frown before answering the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Xan, it's Tony. Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine. Just watching some TV. Will and Cordy and I slept over at Buffy's last night."

"Right, so you're safe?"

"Yes. Tony, what's going on?"

"Just checking on you. Well… that and Gibbs wanted to check in on Willow and we don't have her phone number."

Xander smiled, glad that Gibbs cared about Willow so much, "She's here with me. Do you want me to give the phone to her?"

"Yeah, that would be great. Thank you, Xander."

Xander rolled his eyes. "Bye, Tony." Xander passed Willow his phone.

"Gibbs wants to talk to you but he doesn't have your number."

"Oops, I forgot to give it to him." Willow blushed before raising the phone to her ear gingerly.

"Hello?" she said.

"Willow, you okay?" Gibbs asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. We had a slumber party at Buffy's, that's why I didn't go home last night. Well, that and I don't know if I should go back while my par… I mean, when Ira and Sheila are there."

"Listen, about last night. Can I talk to you for a bit today?"

"Sure, I guess. When do you want to meet?"

"How quickly can you be ready?"

Willow glanced down at herself. She was wearing her spare clothes that she kept at Buffy's house, so she really didn't need any time to get ready at all.

"Um, ten minutes, just to let me get my bag together."

"I can pick you up. Can you give me the address you're at?"

"Yeah, just let me ask Buffy if it's okay." Willow put her hand over the microphone in Xander's phone.

"Can I tell my dad your address, so he can come and pick me up?"

Buffy shrugged. "Sure, I guess. Mom's going to want to meet him at some point anyway."

"Great." Willow moved her hand and told her father the address before they exchanged goodbyes and she hung up. Willow bustled around, packing up her bag. She turned to Buffy shyly.

"Is it okay if I stay here tonight? I don't want to risk going home and my parents still being there."

Buffy nodded. "Of course. You know mom loves it when you stay over."

"Thanks. I don't know how long I'll be. I think it might take awhile though."

"You'll be fine, Willow. Him knowing about… everything doesn't change a thing. He's still going to love you," Buffy reassured.

"I know Buffy. Thank you." Willow smiled weakly. Buffy shook her head and pulled Willow into a hug.

"I should be the one thanking you, Willow."

"Hey, don't forget about the Xan-man," Xander protested, approaching his best friends and engulfing them both in his arms, holding them close. None of them noticed Joyce enter the room before ducking back out to retrieve her camera and coming back to snap a picture.

The three stayed like that until they heard the NCIS car pull up at the front of the house. Willow pulled away from her friends, picking up her bag as there was a knock at the door. Willow and the others moved into the entry as Joyce opened the door.

"Hi." Willow smiled, perking up a little upon seeing her father. Gibbs smiled at her.

"Hey, you okay?"

Willow nodded. "Gibbs, this is Joyce Summers, Buffy's mom. Mrs. Summers, this is Special Agent Gibbs, my dad."

"It's nice to meet you. Your arrival in town has caused quite a stir amongst Buffy and her friends."

Gibbs chuckled. "Yeah, I thought it might."

"Buffy, why don't you and Willow and Xander go and wait by the car for Special Agent Gibbs, so he can take Willow out for the day."

Buffy nodded and led the others. On the way out Gibbs heard their whispers.

"Yeah, Mom, smooth and oh so subtle," Buffy muttered. Xander snorted. Gibbs rolled his eyes. There was no way that Tony and Xander could not be related.

"Special Agent Gibbs." Joyce leaned against the doorframe. "I hope you're not planning on hurting that girl, because the poor thing's been hurt enough by those so-called parents of hers. She needs someone who's going to care about her, protect her and make her feel understood and appreciated, to make her feel safe and loved. She doesn't get enough of that now. She's never had the proper amount of attention on her, the poor thing. She tries so hard but nothing works. I was worried that she'd start trying to get attention in the wrong ways but she's too good for that. She's such a sweet girl; she doesn't deserve the parents she had. The school librarian and I have done the best job we can by offering her parental figures but I think we both know who she needs."

"Me," Gibbs answered. Joyce nodded.

"I hope you can give her that, Special Agent Gibbs."

Gibbs found himself nodding. "I promise to look after her and protect her and make sure she knows how much I care about her," he promised not just Joyce, but himself as well. He wasn't going to let his little girl down.

NCIS/BtVS

Gibbs glanced sideways at Willow as he drove, not knowing what to say. After Willow had greeted him back at Buffy's house, she hadn't said anything to him, making it a very awkward car ride.

"So, where are we going?" Willow asked.

"I don't know, have you got any suggestions?"

Willow frowned thoughtfully, chewing on her lip slightly. "It depends. What do you want to do?"

"Maybe just talk, for now."

"The park is nice for that."

Willow directed Gibbs to the park, which was a large, open grassed area with the same playground in the corner that she and Xander, and once Tony, had played on. They sat on a bench, watching a young child, maybe seven years old, kick a soccer ball with a man who Gibbs guessed was his dad.

"About last night," Gibbs broke the silence, "You could have been killed."

Willow shrugged. "It's not the first time it's happened, but it's the first time I've been caught out alone. That was my own fault. I shouldn't have run out like that and I didn't even realize how far from home I'd gone until I'd stopped running." She looked up at him apologetically. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, it's a sign of weakness," Gibbs automatically said. "I don't blame you for running like that. I mean, yeah, not the smartest idea, but what… what Sheila had just said was huge."

Willow frowned in confusion but let the subject drop, not really understanding what Gibbs had meant when he'd said not to apologize.

"We're safe out here, aren't we?" Gibbs glanced over his shoulder. Willow smiled.

"No, they don't come out in daylight or, at least, most of them don't. No vamps in daylight at least and demons rarely hunt in daylight, so we're safe. Once the sun goes down though, it's a different story."

"Why do you all cringe whenever some gets invited into a house?" Gibbs asked. He'd seen the kids react whenever it was done.

"As a general rule, demons, vampires included, have to be invited inside by a human resident of a house before they can enter. Motel and hotel rooms don't count and neither do public buildings."

"So, you just keep the invitation unspoken," Gibbs said understandingly. When he got home, he was throwing out his doormat that had 'welcome' scrawled all over it. Thankfully, because the rest of his team lived in apartment buildings, they didn't need to worry as much.

Willow nodded. "Yep or, if we want, say, Angel, to be able to come in, you keep it specific. Use his name, otherwise some random vamp who is eavesdropping in your garden might overhear and then you're in trouble."

"Does Angel have an invitation to your house?" Gibbs asked curiously.

"Yeah, he needed my help with a thing he was researching, so I looked things up for him but that's okay because he's safe," Willow hastily defended her friend.

Gibbs nodded, showing he wasn't concerned. He'd seen the way that Angel had killed the demon that had threatened his girl and for that he was happy to believe that he was one of the good guys.

"I hope Joyce was nice to you," Willow said softly. Gibbs grinned.

"She was fine, worried about you, and making sure I was going to look after you."

"Am… Am I going to go and live with you now?" Willow asked nervously. Gibbs looked over at Willow. She looked up at him, green eyes sparkling with unshed tears.

"Yeah, I want to look after you. You're my daughter. I don't want to lose you like I lost… like I lost Shannon and Kelly."

Willow nodded understandingly before she sniffed and inched towards Gibbs, flinging herself into his arms. Gibbs pulled Willow close as he held her, whispering reassurances softly into her ear as she sobbed onto his shoulder. Gibbs wasn't sure why she was crying but being held by him seemed to be helping. It took him back to when Kelly had been small, when she'd fallen over and hurt herself, and Gibbs would hold her much like he was holding Willow until the pain had gone away. Shannon had been better at comforting Kelly than he had been but Gibbs had gotten the hang of it eventually. Now, Willow was solely relying on him to love and care for her.

There was nothing, except death, that would stop Gibbs from achieving that task

"I love you, Willow. You're not going to be alone anymore. I'm going to look after you," Gibbs said softly. Willow pulled back a little, looking up at him with misty green eyes.

"I love you too, Dad," she said with a smile on her face.


	21. CHapter 20: 4th June, 2007

Willow sat beside Gibbs, watching the children playing on the play equipment. She could feel Gibbs rubbing her arm reassuringly, holding her close, protecting her. They were both content with the silence, both of them appreciating the quiet aspects of life.

Willow could tell that her father was a quiet kind of guy that didn't like using words when actions would do. It was something she related to. Maybe it was something she had inherited from Gibbs. Then again, maybe it was just something she'd learned throughout her childhood to make the long days seem less lonely.

God, Sheila was right. She was an experiment; something to be stared at and studied, the ultimate case study for the nature versus nurture debate.

Obviously, Willow's thoughts had somehow projected onto Gibbs, because he held her a little tighter and she felt him press a gentle kiss to her head.

"They're not going to hurt you anymore, Willow. I'm never going to let anyone treat you like that. Sheila was wrong to lash out at you like she did."

"I know," Willow said softly before she sighed. "When do you want me to leave with you?' she asked. Gibbs frowned thoughtfully.

"When do you finish school?" he asked.

"I finish my exams a week from Wednesday. That's when my summer vacation starts."

"I have to go back to work this week but I'll come back the weekend after you finish your exams so we can come back together. It's a long way to go by yourself, even when you're flying."

Willow was touched by the gesture. She half-expected that Gibbs would have simply gotten her a ticket and waited for her at the other end.

"Are you sure?" Willow said. Gibbs smiled.

"Of course, I never say anything I don't mean. Besides, I can pack lightly, which means that you'll be able to bring more things over on the plane in the leftover space in my bags."

Willow nodded at the cunningness of the plan. It made sense, she guessed.

"The rest of the stuff, the things you won't need straight away, we can get trucked over, if you want."

"That would be good." Willow smiled. She'd been a little worried about how she was going to get her stuff across the country. Naturally, the things she no longer wanted was going to get left behind, but Willow knew that there was still going to be a fair amount of stuff she wanted to take with her. She might not act like it most of the time, at least not to Cordelia and Buffy's standard anyway, but she still was, after all, a girl.

NCIS/BtVS

Gibbs watched on in amusement and Willow seemed to bounce in her seat, smiling happily at him. After leaving the park, Gibbs had decided he really needed a coffee, so Willow had directed him to the Espresso Pump and Gibbs had bought them both coffees. Willow had smiled shyly and accepted her drink from him, saying conversationally that she wasn't allowed to have coffee very often, only at exam times, which it was, so it was fine.

Gibbs hadn't put much thought into why such a rule had been put in place until Willow had started bouncing in her seat slightly.

Obviously, Willow had not inherited his tolerance for caffeine. Now, she vividly reminded Gibbs of Abby when she'd had a few Caf-Pows too many. Gibbs was tempted to put his hand on Willow's arm to see if she was actually vibrating in her seat because the way she was moving around, Gibbs wouldn't be surprised if she was.

Willow's phone chose that moment to go off and Willow quickly answered it.

"Hi!" she brightly answered the phone, slightly louder than was necessary. Gibbs cringed in sympathy for whoever it was that was on the other end.

"My dad and I are at the Espresso Pump, Xander. We were at the park and he felt like a coffee, so we came here. It's been a fun morning," Willow babbled quickly. If Gibbs hadn't had experience with Abby when she was babbling, he wouldn't have understood what Willow was saying. It was fast, even by her standards.

Willow suddenly blushed guiltily and shifted her eyes, even though Xander couldn't actually see her. "I might have had a cup of coffee," she sheepishly admitted, guiltily glancing up at Gibbs as Xander obviously said something to her through the phone.

"Okay, then." Willow sighed before handing Gibbs her phone.

"Xander wants to talk to you."

Gibbs nodded, accepting the phone. "Gibbs."

"Rule number one, NEVER give Willow coffee. It's like in Gremlins, when you get them wet or feed them after midnight. It's not good," Xander lectured through the phone. Gibbs fought the urge to snort. Xander and Tony were definitely related.

"Yeah, I'm getting that now. What do you recommend I do?"

Xander actually snorted at that. "No offense but since you're the one that gave it to her, you're the one that has to deal with the consequences."

"Doesn't she know that she reacts badly to it? I mean, shouldn't she know to avoid coffee?"

"She is sitting right here." Willow pouted from across the table.

"She likes it and I don't think she knows how bad she actually gets. Just watch her for when she slows down."

"She crashes, huh?"

"Oh, yeah, big time."

"Thanks for the pointer."

"You're welcome. Good luck."

At that, Xander hung up and Gibbs raised his eyebrows at the phone. That had been one of the stranger phone calls he'd ever had. Gibbs handed Willow back her phone and led her out of the coffee shop. Willow bounced and skipped down the street beside Gibbs. Thankfully, there weren't many people out and about, so there weren't any strange glances being aimed in the direction of the teenaged girl skipping down the street.

Gibbs knew that the best way to help Willow recover more quickly was to have her do physical exercise, so he figured a lengthy walk was in order.

"Hey, Willow, do you think you could show me around town?" he asked, hoping Willow wouldn't see right through the plan. He relaxed slightly when she beamed at him.

"Sure, okay, where do you want to start?"

Gibbs thought quickly. "The school," he said. Willow nodded brightly.

"Good idea, follow me." Willow hurried off, Gibbs following closely as she headed towards her school, still skipping away contentedly.

NCIS/BtVS

By the time Willow had slowed down, she and Gibbs had visited the school, the Bronze, the mall, various cemeteries where Willow had patrolled over the years, Jesse's memorial marker, and they were heading towards the park. Gibbs sighed in relief when he noticed the skipping had stopped and Willow had shaken her head a couple of times.

"You want to sit down?" he asked as they were passing a bench. Willow nodded and dropped onto the seat heavily.

"Why did I do that?" she groaned. Gibbs snorted.

"I don't know, but at least now I know never to give you coffee."

Willow cringed. "You aren't mad at me?"

"I think you're paying for it now. Besides, we all have our vices and liking coffee is one of mine. I just have a higher tolerance for it than you."

Willow laughed softly. "So I get it from you, the liking coffee part anyway, not the going psycho after drinking it, but then, a lot of people like coffee, and I'm getting better than what I was. The first time I had coffee, I was thirteen and Xander couldn't look at me with a straight face for days afterwards. I think we're all hoping that I'll grow out of it."

Gibbs nodded, glancing around the area they were in. They were near the park they had started off at. He sat down next to Willow, stretching his legs out in front of him.

"What was my mom like, and Kelly?" Willow quietly asked. "I mean, if you don't want to talk about it, it's okay. I was just, you know, curious."

Gibbs shook his head. He'd known, ever since he'd learned of Willow's survival of Shannon and Kelly's murder, that the question was coming. He'd been prepared for it.

"Shannon… you look a lot like her. Kelly did too, but she had my eyes. You've got your mother's. She was very sweet and kind to everyone. She was a teacher at the elementary school Kelly went to. She taught kindergarten. All of those kids loved her. She was strong too. She knew that every time I left to go abroad, I might not come back. Kelly hated it when I went away, especially the last time. She begged me not to go, as if she knew that she wasn't going to see me again. Shannon just stood beside her, hugging her and trying to reassure her that I was going to come back while at the same time being scared that I wasn't going to make it back in time for you to be born, or that I wasn't going to be able to ever see you. She cared so much about you and Kelly. I lost count of how many times I walked in on her singing to you, even though you weren't even born yet. Kelly was Shannon's little girl but she was always up for an adventure. She loved horse riding on the beach and playing in the garden with her best friend, Maddie. She was so excited about being a big sister. Shannon and Kelly decorated your room together. It was simple, because we didn't know if you were going to be a boy or a girl, but Kelly and Shannon worked hard on it." Gibbs faded off, surprised that he had talked for as long as he had, especially when talking about Shannon and Kelly was usually so painful.

"Do you have any other family members? Parents, brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces?"

"I was an only child. My mom died when I was about your age. My dad and I sort of fell out after that and I joined the Marine Corps. After Shannon and Kelly died we didn't talk for years, up until last year. We've been getting in touch more often since then. He's going to be ecstatic when I tell him about you. He loved Kelly and he was excited about being a grandfather again when we told him that Shannon was pregnant with you. He's the only blood family I have left, other than you."

"Where does he live? Near you?" Willow asked.

"A few hours drive away, Stillwater, Pennsylvania. I'll take you out there one weekend," Gibbs replied. Willow nodded.

"That sounds good. I don't remember my grandparents from, you know, before. They were all already gone when I was born, or they died when I was young. Both of my par… adopted parents were only children, so I never had cousins or aunts or uncles."

Willow and Gibbs sat side by side in a comfortable silence, both of them unknowingly thinking of the same thing, the other two members of their little family that should be there with them. At that moment, Gibbs felt Shannon and Kelly's loss keenly, simply because they should have been part of Willow's life. Kelly should have been able to show Willow how to play with dollies and how to sweet-talk Shannon or Gibbs into doing something for them, and Shannon should have been there to pick Willow up when she fell down and to hold Willow when she cried when Gibbs was leaving and to try and be the firm one who wouldn't let the girls race when they rode horses on the beach.

Willow thought about how nice it would have been to have had an older sister when she was growing up. Someone who would look out for her and be her friend and would take her to parks and do all the other things older sisters did for their younger sisters. Willow felt her heart clench painfully as she thought about what Gibbs had told her about her mother. Shannon sounded like a wonderful person and a kind and caring mother. Willow thought about how different things would have been if Shannon hadn't died and she'd been raised as a member of the Gibbs family, with a mother and father that actually cared about her.

Willow honestly couldn't imagine, from what she had seen and heard of them, Shannon and Jethro Gibbs not noticing if their daughter came home with a reasonable amount of blood on her clothes, like she had one time when Ira and Sheila had unexpectedly come home while she'd been off with Buffy helping with some demon. Willow had gained a few deep cuts that, although they hadn't needed stitching, had bled profusely during the fight, and neither one of her adopted parents had questioned where the blood that had stained her clothes had come from. After that, Willow had kept a change of clothes at Buffy's, Xander's, in her locker at school, and at Giles', lest her parents notice if it were to happen again, but she couldn't imagine Gibbs not noticing had he been the one at home that night.

Naturally, it was a moot point, because if Shannon was still alive, they'd all be living in Washington D.C. still, and Willow would never have learned about the supernatural and befriended the Slayer, but it was a plausible theory.

As it was, Willow knew that she was going to spend at least a year living with her biological father, barring any tragedies, and she was going to make the most of it.


	22. Chapter 21: 4th June, 2007

Having dropped Willow off back at Buffy's house, Gibbs thought about what his next move was going to be as he drove back to the motel he and his team were staying at. Willow had agreed to leaving Sunnydale so she could live with him, a choice that had been basically made up for her when Sheila had announced what her motive for adopting Willow was.

Gibbs stopped the car when he got to the motel and went up towards his room, planning to do some quiet thinking in solitude. On the way, he passed the room that Tony and McGee were sharing. Gibbs could hear his team chatting away within the room and stopped, deciding that he should check on what they were doing. He opened up the door and let himself in.

Tony beamed up at him as Gibbs entered the room from where he sat on the edge of his bed. Ziva was sitting next to him and McGee was sitting at the table with his laptop open in front of him.

"Hi, Boss. How was Willow today?" Tony asked.

"Fine, DiNozzo."

"We were just discussing what we discovered last night," Ziva explained.

"Kind of explains the high mortality rates," McGee added. Gibbs rolled his eyes.

"You think, McGee?" he said.

"Well, I for one am kind of looking forward to going back to good old, mostly vampire-free, Washington D.C.," Tony said, stretching his arms.

"Have you talked to Willow about what you are planning to do?" Ziva asked.

"She's coming to live with me when she finishes her exams in a week and a half. We'll fly back on Tuesday and then I'll come back the next weekend and pick her up. Gives her a chance to say goodbye and gives me a chance to get her room ready."

"Good thinking, Boss." Tony smiled from where he sat.

Ziva nodded in agreement. Gibbs sat down on McGee's bed and enjoyed the brief silence in the room, waiting for one of his team to speak. Predictably, it was Tony that broke the silence.

"What are you doing, Probie?"

"Chatting with Abby. She says hi, by the way."

"Tell her I say hi back." Ziva smiled.

Tony nodded. "Me too."

McGee nodded and typed 'Tony and Ziva say hi' into the new message box before hitting enter. Abby quickly replied.

'Are you all there? I should video conference you guys.'

'Yeah, we're all here, even Gibbs,' McGee typed back.

'Good.'

McGee closed down the chat feature on his laptop and opened up the video feed with Abby's lab. Quickly, the quirky Goth's face was up on the laptop's screen.

"Hi, McGee, how's California. Are you getting a tan?"

"No, Abs, but California is good."

"How's Gibblet going? Have you guys met with her recently? Naturally, you would have, because you went all that way just to meet her. Is she coming to stay with Gibbs?"

"Hey, Abby," Gibbs said, getting up and approaching the laptop, looking over McGee's shoulder.

"Hey, Gibbs. How's your daughter?'

"She's okay. Never giver her Caf Pow! though," Gibbs ordered.

"Why not?" Abby said, slightly confused.

"She doesn't have my tolerance for caffeine."

"Nobody does, Gibbs," Tony pointed out. Gibbs shot him a look.

"Aww, does she get hyper? How bad?"

"She reminded me a little of a squirrel, between the constant moving and the constant talking, and that was just after one cup of coffee, with milk and sugar."

"Ah, okay then. No Caf Pow! for the Gibblet. Is she coming to live with you?"

"Once she finishes her exams. Two weeks."

"Yay, do I get to meet her at some point?" Abby bounced up and down in her chair a bit.

Gibbs quirked his eyebrow at the question. He had a feeling it was going to be near impossible to keep Willow and Abby apart. They were very similar, but yet very different at the same time. Gibbs imagined that they would get along well.

"Of course you will, Abbs," Gibbs answered Abby's question. Abby beamed.

"Yay, thank you Gibbs. When are you all coming home? It's been far too quiet here with you all gone, although I think Vance is enjoying it a little."

"That sounds about right," Tony muttered from where he sat and McGee chuckled.

"We'll be coming home on Tuesday and I'll come back to get Willow a week later when she's ready to go."

"What are her parents like? Are they nice? Did you get them to sign over guardianship? Of course you did, because she's coming to live with you, and if you didn't then it would be like kidnapping, which is bad," Abby babbled.

"Willow's parents are bastards," Tony said simply from the bed.

"They aren't very nice," Ziva added. Abby frowned.

"They didn't… hurt Willow, did they?"

"Not physically, but last night Sheila Rosenberg said that she only took Willow in to further her career and to serve as something she could experiment on. Willow was in the room when she said it." Gibbs growled.

Abby's eyes filled with tears. "Oh my God, the poor girl. What happened?"

"She ran out and we had to go and find her. Her friends helped," answered McGee, not divulging the whole story. Abby didn't push for details though, thankfully.

"They signed over guardianship last night. Willow went to her friend's house with her other friends for a slumber party," Ziva added.

"Aww, poor thing. How is she coping? I swear, I'm going to give her the biggest hug when I meet her. She needs lots of hugs."

"I'm sure she'll appreciate that, Abby." McGee smiled. Gibbs wasn't so sure. It might be a bit much for a sixteen-year-old that had been fighting in a war for the last eighteen months against the forces of darkness to be confronted by someone who, if you didn't already know her, looked to be the embodiment of all things dark and hauled into a bear hug.

Hopefully, it wouldn't be an issue.

"What about Tony's cousin? What's he like?"

"Picture a seventeen-year-old Tony in your mind and you have it," Ziva said.

"Awww, teenaged Tony. That would be so cute."

"Did you ever dress like that though, Tony?" McGee asked with a grin. Tony cringed, thinking of Xander's choice of very loud shirts.

"No, thankfully. Xander just hasn't got my taste in clothing," Tony defended. Abby laughed down the computer before looking over her shoulder at something behind her.

"Hey, Ducky," she chirruped. "I'm talking to Gibbs and the team."

"Ah, how are things in California, Jethro?" Ducky asked, his face joining Abby's.

"Alright. Willow's coming to live with me in a few weeks, once the school term is over."

"That's wonderful, Jethro. I am very much looking forward to meeting Willow."

"Willow's parents are nasty," Abby told Ducky, who glanced at Gibbs through the screens that separated them for elaboration of the forensic expert's words.

"Willow's adopted mother said, while Willow was in the room with us, that the only reason she adopted her was to give her a child that she could experiment her theories on and to further her career. She called Willow her lab rat and a guinea pig. The kid looked so upset afterwards," Tony answered when it looked like Gibbs couldn't repeat the words said so callously to his daughter again.

Ducky looked suitably horrified. "I must say, I've heard of parents saying some very nasty things to children, but that is one of the worst things I've ever heard. How did Willow respond to this?"

"She ran out of the house. Tony lost her in the dark, so we called up her friends, and they helped us track her down," Ziva answered.

"What a relief that she was not hurt," Ducky exclaimed. Gibbs nodded.

"She was lucky."

"I'm sorry to cut the conversation short, but I'm afraid I need to get back to work. When are you returning?"

"Tuesday. We'll see you then Ducky."

"Goodbye, Jethro, Timothy, Anthony, and Ziva."

"Bye, Ducky," Tony and Ziva called.

Ducky left Abby's lab, leaving the Goth alone. Abby frowned.

"I need to go too. I'll see you when you come back."

"See you then, Abs," Gibbs said. McGee closed down the video link and turned off his laptop.

"What do we do next?" Tony asked.

"I'm going to go and talk to the Rosenbergs. Tony, you're with me."

"On your six, boss." Tony got up and followed Gibbs from the motel room, leaving Ziva and McGee grinning widely.

Ira and Sheila wouldn't know what hit them by the time Gibbs was finished with them.

NCIS/BtVS

Gibbs parked the car out the front of the Rosenbergs' residence, relieved that the car that was parked there the previous night was still there. The couple obviously hadn't skipped town.

Tony dutifully followed Gibbs as he walked up to the front door. He knew why he was there. Firstly, to make sure Gibbs didn't lash out at the Rosenbergs; secondly, to make sure that he constantly monitored the situation to prevent Gibbs becoming aggravated; and thirdly, as a witness, both to state that Gibbs didn't do anything, if it was claimed that he did, and so Gibbs wouldn't have to repeat Sheila's words if she spoke badly about Willow again.

Gibbs knocked on the door and it was quickly opened by Ira.

"Special Agent Gibbs," he said, surprise showing on his face.

"Mr. Rosenberg," Gibbs said slowly, his eye's glinting slightly.

"Um, would you like to come in? Sheila's off at the hairdressers."

Gibbs stepped over the threshold and Tony followed. Ira shut the door and led them into the living room, the same place that, less than twenty four hours before, Willow's heart had been broken by the ones who were supposed to protect it.

Gibbs and Tony sat down next to one another, so if needed Tony could hold Gibbs back, while Ira, sensing the tenseness in the air, sat on the other side of the coffee table in a chair.

"Have you seen Willow? She hasn't come home after last night. She sent me a message that she was safe and that she was at her friend's house, but I haven't seen her, and I want to apologize to her."

"She slept over at Buffy's last night. I saw her last night and again this morning. We had a nice long talk. She's fine though, physically. What did you want to apologize to her about?'

"Um, about last night. I didn't know Sheila was going to say what she did. Willow didn't deserve to hear that. She's done everything either of us has ever wanted. She's a great girl. Sheila, well, Sheila resents Willow because Willow was a constant reminder of what Sheila herself could never have. Every time she looked at Willow, she saw someone else's child, not her own. Sheila found out just before we got married that she couldn't have children. She was devastated. She grew up an only child and she hated it. She wanted a big family. I was the one who wanted to adopt. I wanted to give another child a chance at a good life. Sheila didn't want to; she was too upset over her inability to have children. It was perhaps the only argument I ever won. I tried to reason to her devotion to her career, how having a child in the house would make her theories better received, and it would add to her credibility if she saved a child from the foster system. I never meant to make Willow a lab experiment. I though Sheila actually cared about her. When Willow was a little baby, she was such a good mother. When Willow fell, Sheila picked her up. When Willow cried, Sheila wiped away her tears. I thought that, when she started withdrawing from Willow, she was just going along with her theories, not trying an untested theory out. I know I go to all these talks, but I can't remember everything that gets said, and a lot of the time I attend different conferences in the same country to Sheila. I am a Rabbi, and I spend a great deal of time talking with other religious leader about issues that concern us."

"How old was Willow when Sheila started withdrawing? What do you mean by that?" Gibbs asked, pulling out a notepad and a pen. Tony grinned. Gibbs was in interrogation mode.

"Willow would have been five, or maybe six. Sheila spent less time with her and more time in her office. She distanced herself from Willow, not quite ignoring her, but they certainly spent much less time together. At about that time, we started spending more time away from home. There was a nanny staying with Willow when she wasn't at school though. Willow hated it when we left home though, she always cried. I asked her one time what upset her so much and she said that she was frightened that something horrible was going to happen to us and that we wouldn't be able to come back."

Gibbs swallowed. Maybe, as far-fetched as it sounded, Willow had, before she was born, picked up on Kelly and Shannon's distress when he had left, leading to that particular fear. Or maybe it was something Willow had come up with on her own

"By the time Willow was nine, she was spending nights in the house by herself, and when she was in her last year of junior high we stopped the nanny altogether. Willow had proven to us that she was responsible enough to cook her own meals and mature enough that we could trust her to not do anything stupid. At the start, we tried to keep the trips short, but Sheila was pushing for longer times away, saying that it was teaching Willow resilience and independence. The neighbors checked on her every day and she often spent the weekends at one of her friend's houses, either one of the boys', but all three would be there. I wasn't sure, but, well, I'm not very good at confrontations and arguments, Special Agent Gibbs, and my wife, well, she should have been a lawyer."

Tony chuckled, considering the man that sat before him. He was smaller than he and Gibbs and was slightly thin and weedy-looking. The hair at the top of his head was balding in the middle and was turning grey. He didn't look like an intimidating type of guy, but then, looks didn't mean everything.

Gibbs studied the man intently. Ira was being truthful, at least, as far as he could tell. The man was just the sort that was easily overpowered verbally.

"What do you propose I do, Mr. Rosenberg?" Gibbs said. Ira paused.

"Willow should get the chance to know you. I know we banned Willow from finding you and her mother until she was 18, but, well, I think it was more connected to Sheila's insecurities than anything to do with you or Willow. Willow deserves to get to know you and, should she wish it, if that involves leaving home and going to live with you, then so be it. She has my blessing to go. You look after her though, Special Agent Gibbs. I may not act like it sometimes, but I love that little girl with all my heart and I don't want to see her get hurt any more."


	23. Chapter 22: 5th June, 2007

Willow waited for the NCIS team to come. They were leaving to head back to Washington D.C. and Gibbs had said that they would come by and say goodbye before heading to L.A.

She glanced out the window as she heard the familiar sound of the car pull up outside the house. Xander stood beside her, having gotten up early so he could come to Buffy's house and say goodbye to Tony before he, Buffy and Willow went to school.

As the car doors opened and closed, Willow and Xander were running down the stairs, eager to meet them. Buffy watched on in amusement as the two lifelong best friends pushed one another gently, trying to be the one who the NCIS team saw first.

Ever since it had sunk in for Xander that Willow was going to be leaving Sunnydale, he'd tried to spend as much time as possible with her. Willow had been grateful and their bond, which had been put to the test by Cordelia and Xander's relationship, was stronger than ever.

Joyce rolled her eyes at Xander and Willow as she opened the door to her house, letting Gibbs, Tony, Ziva and McGee into the house. Xander and Willow stopped messing around and Xander was immediately Willow's rock, sliding his hand around her shoulder, pulling tightly in a reassuring hug, before letting his arm drop to his side. Willow crossed over to Gibbs and he pulled her gently into his arms, holding her close.

"Be careful. I don't want to lose you, not after having just found you," Gibbs said softly, so only she could hear.

"I will. You be careful too. I don't want to lose you after, well, you found me," Willow replied quietly, smirking slightly up at him. Gibbs smiled.

"Good luck with your exams. I know they mean a lot to you."

"Thanks. So, you'll come back, not this weekend, but next weekend?"

"Yes, I'm not going to forget, trust me."

"Okay." Willow sighed, trusting him, although it was difficult. Ira and Sheila had broken their promises so many times; it was difficult for her to trust an adult in the same way again. Giles was different, because he was looking out for their lives, and Willow needed to be able to trust him, while at the same time knowing that the Englishman's focus was Buffy and that he had no real responsibility towards any of the others.

Gibbs pulled a card from his jacket and out it in Willow's hand. It had his phone numbers on it: work, mobile and he'd written his home phone number on it as well.

"If you need me, call me, no matter what time it is."

"Alright. I'm going to miss you."

"I'll miss you too, Willow."

As Willow and Gibbs exchanged goodbyes, Tony approached Xander.

"So, next time, I'll try and make it less than eight years between visits."

Xander laughed. "Yeah, that would be good. Hey, are you coming back when Gibbs comes back for Willow? One and a half weeks is a huge improvement on eight years."

Tony shook his head. "To be honest I don't think the Director's going to give us all time off again. If we catch a case and Gibbs has to go, I'm going to have to be team leader until he and Willow come back. I'll keep in touch more often, though, and Willow will keep me up to date, you know that."

"Yeah, I know."

"Listen, what you're doing with the vampires and stuff, don't get stupid, alright? It's dangerous. Don't think that, if I could, I wouldn't be trying to get you to leave Sunnydale, because I would without a second thought, but your mom needs you here, Xander. She loves you. I know that she might not act like it some of the time, but she does care about you. Don't forget that."

Xander found himself shrugging. "When… when Willow goes to Washington D.C., will you look out for her?"

"I promise I will, Xander. I promise that I won't let her get hurt, that I'll make sure she's okay."

"Don't let her get lonely. She's never been away from me for more than a few days, not even a week."

"Xander, I'll look after her and between Gibbs, me, Ziva, Tim, Abby, Ducky, and Palmer, not to mention any kids she makes friends with, she's not going to get lonely."

"Please, just look after her. She's my best friend."

"I'll look after her Xander. I've got her six, don't worry about that."

Xander nodded. "Thank you."

"You make sure she knows how much you guys are going to miss her. Have a big farewell party and all that," Tony instructed with a grin. Xander nodded.

"No chance of that not happening. Cordelia and Buffy are already planning it."

"Good to hear. Call me if you need anything." Tony gave Xander his card. "I'll be seeing you, Xander."

"Bye Tony."

Buffy, Joyce and Willow said goodbye to Tony and the rest of the team and Willow was given the cards of the rest of the team, just in case she needed to get in touch and Gibbs for whatever reason was unavailable.

Then, the NCIS team left and drove off down the street. Willow sighed sadly as she watched them go from where they stood on the front lawn.

"I know it's weird, because I've only known him for a week or two and he'll be back in less than two weeks, but seeing him leave like this is worse than when Ira and Sheila leave on one of their lecture tours and I know they're going to be gone for months," Willow commented as Gibbs drove away. Buffy and Xander looked at her.

"Maybe it's because he actually cares about you," Buffy offered. Willow tensed slightly. Although she had accepted her mother's rejection, it still stung.

"Oh, God, Willow, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that," Buffy apologized, realizing what she'd just said. Willow shook her head.

"I know what you meant, its okay. Still stings a little, that's all."

"I'm sorry," Buffy apologized again. Joyce chose that moment to poke her head out the front door.

"Are you guys ready to go? I'll drop you off so you won't be late."

"We can't keep the troll waiting, can we?" Xander whispered under his breath and Willow and Buffy laughed, running inside to get their books before getting into the car and chattering away between themselves as Joyce drove them to school on the way to her work. uffy apologised, realising what she'. Although she had accepted her mother's she watched them go.

NCIS/BtVS

To distract herself from her thoughts about Gibbs and her real family, Willow flung herself into her last-minute studying for her finals, even more so than she usually did. As it was exam time, the coffee rule was lifted and so Willow spent her time either in class or in the library studying and helping with research or at Buffy's doing some studying with her.

Xander watched on as Willow reread her notes from biology for what seemed to be the one hundredth time. He shook his head and looked over at Buffy, who Willow had convinced to do some studying herself. Even Xander had opened his books up after the resolve face Willow had thrown in his direction. Maybe, Xander guessed, Willow was taking her self-appointed job of making sure he and Buffy passed a little bit more seriously since it could be the last year that she would be able to do it. She normally took the role very seriously, but now it was crazy.

"Willow, can we take a break?"

"When you get to the end of the chapter, Xander," Willow said without looking up from her notes. Buffy sniggered as Xander flipped forward in his textbook to see how long ht chapter was.

"But this is a long chapter." Xander pouted.

Buffy cracked up laughing and Willow simply shot a look in Xander's direction. Xander sighed.

"Shutting up and reading now." He began to read the text and Willow smiled to herself in contentment before refocusing on her notes. Buffy had watched the exchange and she couldn't help but notice how similar the interaction had been to ones between Gibbs and Tony.

The blonde couldn't help but notice the little things that Willow did that were very similar to Gibbs, even though neither of them was aware of it. Or at least, Willow wasn't. Gibbs might be, but Buffy didn't know him, so he was much harder to read than her best friend.

It was sweet that Willow and her dad were so alike. Apparently Willow was the image of her mother physically, but Willow's selflessness and courage were both things Buffy could see in Gibbs. He was a Marine after all, and by accounts they were tough. Buffy snorted as a mental picture of Willow in camouflage entered her mind. Maybe she was the one who should have dressed up as a soldier on Halloween.

Buffy looked up, startled to find both Willow and Xander looking at her, obviously distracted from their study by Buffy's sounds of amusement.

"What?" Buffy asked.

"Is there something you would like to share with the class, Miss Summers?" Xander said, imitating Snyder's voice. Willow giggled.

"Nope, funny mental picture, that's all. Don't mind me." Buffy turned her attention to Giles, who was at the checkout counter. "Is it bad that I'm hoping that there are some vampires around with, you know, big plans? Because, seriously, I could do with some slayage. All this studying is making my brain all fuzzy and icky."

"Are you, by any chance, studying English?" Giles said, "Because if you are, I do believe you need to do some more work."

"Nope, today is math day." Buffy pouted.

"Pity," Giles said. "I was hoping you would all learn not to butcher the language so much."

"Nice try, Giles." Buffy smiled up at her Watcher.

Giles sighed and surveyed the three. Cordelia was off doing something and it was daylight, meaning Angel was at his house. It left him with his three original charges.

"How are all of your studies progressing?" he asked. Xander shrugged.

"Getting there." Buffy sighed, going back to her textbook.

"What about you, Willow?" Giles asked.

"Huh? Oh yeah, no, everything's going good. They kind of snuck up on me this year though, you know, with everything that's been happening," Willow stammered. Giles cringed as her eyes looked a little red and weepy, as if Willow was close to tears.

"Hey, Will, what's up?"

"This is going to be the last year that we'll all be doing this together, studying for finals. I mean, I know next year we'll be all studying at the same times, sort of, and similar kinds of things, but we won't actually be physically together because I'll be up in Washington D.C. and you'll both be here," Willow babbled. Xander got up and pulled her close to his chest, hugging her tightly, and Buffy wrapped her arms around them both.

"We'll be okay, Willow. The grade point is going to drop and Snyder's going to be miffed because of that, but we'll be okay. I'm surprised that he hasn't said anything yet."

"Yeah, I think, of the three of us, you're his favorite and you're the one he doesn't want to go."

"He doesn't know yet. Gibbs is going to call him some time this week and arrange a meeting between them when he comes back and gets me."

"Oh, I so want to be there for that." Buffy grinned. Xander laughed.

"Oh my God, Gibbs versus Snyder. Do you think Gibbs would kill him?" Xander asked hopefully.

"Wishful thinking, Xander. I can't picture murdering his daughter's school principal for being a troll is on his plan for the meeting," Buffy said. Xander pouted.

"Damn. Oh well. It will certainly make for an interesting meeting."

"Well, yes, I imagine it would," Giles said, taking off his glasses to polish them, ducking his head so the three teenagers couldn't see the look of delight on his face. They still did though, and they knew that they weren't the only ones looking forward to THAT particular encounter.


	24. Chapter 23: 12th to 15th June, 2007

Willow exhaled nervously as she finally walked out of the classroom that her final exam had been held in. Around her, her classmates were running from the room, cheering and yelling, happy that the school year was over and that summer holidays had officially begun.

Looking around, she sought out Buffy, Xander and Cordelia. Being a senior, Oz had already finished and he, Devon and the rest of the band had headed off to L.A. Oz had promised to return to Sunnydale on full moons though, so he would be safely caged and supervised.

Buffy, Xander and Cordelia hadn't been in the same class as Willow for the last exam but they all had ones scheduled at the same time.

Eventually, Willow found Buffy in the crowd and together they quickly relocated Xander and Cordelia, who were having a private 'end of the school year/start of summer' kiss in a corner. Unfortunately, they had also been found by Snyder, who was threatening them with summer school before he spotted one of the other kids using a lighter on his textbooks and shot away to deal with that situation. Buffy and Willow approached the pair once Snyder was gone.

"Ready to go?" Buffy asked.

"Yep, I've just got to empty out my locker," Xander said.

"Me too," Willow added. Cordelia nodded, so they headed to the lockers, opening them up and emptying out the school books and trash that had accumulated over the year. Buffy smiled as she pulled a stake from the very back.

"I wondered where I put this one. It's one of my favorites," she told the others before putting it in her bag.

The lockers empty, the four headed out the front doors of the school and Willow suddenly turned, looking at the building sadly. She had a lot of fond… and not so fond… memories of the building.

"You okay, Willow?" Buffy asked. Willow breathed deeply before nodding and turning around again, leading the others away from the school.

NCIS/BtVS

Willow let herself into her parents' house, glad that they were gone once again. They'd left the day that Gibbs had left Sunnydale and she'd received emails from both of them wishing her luck on the move to Washington D.C. and a promise that, if they were ever in town, they would get in touch with her.

There was also a reminder that, even though they'd signed her over to Gibbs, they were still willing to support her, so instalments would be made biweekly into her bank account and her college fund until her eighteenth birthday. Willow wasn't fussed about this. Between the money she had saved over the years and the money she had gotten for designing and selling a program on the computer, she was pretty sure that she could live comfortably until she was about thirty without raising a finger.

Now that exams were over, it became a real fact that in less than four days she will have left Sunnydale. She'd been so focused on her exams that she hadn't even started on her packing and choosing what she would take, what was going to stay, what would be sent to Washington D.C. in a truck and what she would take with her on the plane.

Willow walked slowly up to her room, taking in the quiet house along the way. Not for the first time, she wondered what her new home was going to be like. It had sounded like Gibbs lived alone, so it would just be the two of them and the half-constructed boat in the basement.

She wondered what the neighborhood was like as she looked out her bedroom window onto her balcony. She wondered where her bedroom window would face. The backyard? The front yard and the street? A good view of the neighbor's yard? A brick wall?

She was going to find out soon enough.

Willow looked around her room with a sigh before she picked up the boxes that Giles and Joyce had collected for her. Inside one was a couple of newspapers and Willow grabbed the first few sheets from the first one and began to wrap up a few of the ornaments that up until now had decorated her room. She wasn't going to need them straight away following the move, so she began to load them into a box for them to be trucked across the country to their new home.

NCIS/BtVS

For those first few days of the summer vacation, Willow, Buffy, Xander, Cordelia and sometimes Giles and Joyce packed up Willow's life in Sunnydale into bags and boxes. Willow was surprised at how much she was throwing out. She felt as though it was a fresh start and it was an opportunity for her to leave her childhood behind her in Sunnydale and move on to her new grown-up life with her biological father in the capitol.

Of course, she didn't throw everything out. She kept the little trophies she'd won every year for coming first in the science fair and photos of her and Xander and Jesse growing up together. Buffy and Cordelia took over sorting through Willow's wardrobe, choosing what Willow be taking with her and what would be donated to charity or thrown out. Willow was shocked at the few changes they were making until Xander quietly told her that Joyce was keeping a watchful eye on them to ensure they didn't get too over excited by the prospect of giving Willow a new look.

Willow sadly packed up her stuffed toys, gazing over them fondly. Many of them had been presents from Xander or Jesse and they carried her childhood memories. She gave a few to Xander, so he wouldn't forget her. Xander had gone quiet and discreetly slipped out of the house. Willow had glanced out her window a few minutes later to see Xander sitting on the grass in her backyard, gazing out at nothing and his arms hugging the toy close to his chest. She couldn't see his face but Willow knew by his posture alone that he was upset.

It struck Willow at that moment how much she was going to miss Xander and the others. She knew that she would still be in contact with them on the phone and via email, but it wouldn't be the same. Maybe she'd be able to come and visit over the school holidays. Not this summer, because she was going to spend the summer months getting to know Gibbs and her new family and surroundings but at a later point, she wondered whether she could come and visit. Maybe Tony could come too, and they could visit Xander. Gibbs would probably feel better about a holiday back to Sunnydale if he knew that Willow wasn't going to be alone.

Xander had often talked about going on a road trip at the end of high school. At one point, he, Jessie and Willow had made a pact to go together but Willow wasn't sure what was going to happen. Maybe Xander could drive up to Washington D.C. and visit her, or they could meet half way between Sunnydale and Washington D.C. and go road-tripping together. She didn't know what was going to happen.

Willow quietly signalled to Buffy that she was going outside before she crept out of her room. The house seemed oddly quiet, cold and deserted, and Willow shuddered before escaping outside into the warm sunshine.

"Hi," she said softly as she approached Xander's back. Xander started, turning so he could see her. Willow cringed at the redness of his eyes, betraying the fact that he'd been crying recently.

"Hey, Willow."

"Are you okay, Xander?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you okay? You're the one that's leaving after all."

Willow shrugged, sitting down beside Xander.

"I don't know, it's all happening so fast. One day you come running into school saying that your cousin, who is a federal agent, was in town and the next, I'm packing up to go live with my biological father, who just so happens to be your cousin's boss and who has been grieving my death, along with the deaths of my mother and sister, for the past sixteen years," Willow said shakily. Xander shook his head.

"Even on the Hellmouth and after everything we've been though, it's still weird," he commented.

"It feels like I'm living in a TV show," Willow admitted. Xander smiled at the comment.

"And that's before you throw in all the supernatural stuff."

Willow nodded and Xander pulled her into a hug, burying his head into her hair and inhaling deeply, memorizing Willow's scent.

"If you ever need me for anything, you just need to call me, alright?" he said softly. Willow sniffed and nodded.

"I promise," she said.

"I'm going to miss you. Sunnydale's never going to be the same without you. Nothing's going to be the same without you."

"If you ever need me for anything, you just need to call me," Willow replied, lifting her head and smiling at Xander. Xander chuckled and continued to hold Willow as they sat in the yard, seeking comfort from one another before they were separated.

Eventually, all of Willow's things were packed and sorted. Several boxes of things, mostly clothes and toys that Willow had outgrown or no longer used had been taken to a secondhand shop and some things had been thrown out. Willow had given some of her belongings to Xander, Buffy, Giles, Angel, Oz and even Cordelia, so they could remember her. They'd all been touched by the gesture. Cordelia had even hugged Willow in gratitude, which had surprised everyone, no one less than the two girls involved.

NCIS/BtVS

For Gibbs, it had been a long week and a half. He'd decided that Willow should sleep in the guest bedroom, the one that had been the one he and Shannon had shared. He'd cleared it out, moving the bed a little so a desk could be put in and a chest of drawers, a bookshelf and a dressing table. Abby picked out a quilt cover to put on the bed but Gibbs decided that it would be best for Willow to decorate the room how she wanted it, since she would be the one spending her time in there. He wanted her to feel comfortable with it, after all.

The rest of the house had been cleaned up and Gibbs had done some work in the backyard, making sure that everything was tidy for when Willow arrived.

Gibbs knew that Tony was joking about him nesting and he supposed his senior field agent was right, he was nesting to a certain extent, but the others were being very respectful about his newly rediscovered status as a father of a living child. McGee had offered to help with any technical things that needed doing and Ziva offered to take Willow shopping once she had settled in (Abby had volunteered to go along as well). Although he was joking around about it, Gibbs knew that Tony was willing to do anything to help as well. He could imagine the younger man taking Willow in under his wing as a younger sister, looking out for her and protecting her. Gibbs had seen the beginnings of the relationship forming even when they were still in Sunnydale.

A case had come up and that had made the time go more quickly. In what felt like no time at all, Gibbs was on the plane heading for LA. Callen was waiting for him once again at the airport with a car and a friendly word and Gibbs briefly visited the L.A. office before he drove out towards Sunnydale. He'd felt relief flow through him as he'd spotted Willow sitting on the front porch of Buffy's house, along with Buffy, Xander and Cordelia. He'd been scared that she would be hurt when he was gone but as she hurried across the front lawn to meet him, hugging him tightly and smiling, he reassured himself that she was all right and had survived his absence unscathed.

Gibbs knew that later that afternoon they were going to have a meeting with Principal Snyder, so Gibbs could collect Willow's school records. He had never met the man but the looks on the group's face when he had told them about the meeting told him that Snyder wasn't very well-liked, not by Willow and her friends at least. Willow asked if she could spend her last night in Sunnydale with her friends after the meeting with Snyder and Gibbs had readily accepted, knowing that Willow would resent him if he didn't allow her to say proper farewells. They were going to be leaving pretty early in the morning in order to get back to Washington D.C. at a reasonable time of day, so there wouldn't be much chance for long-winded farewells then.

Keeping that in mind, Gibbs drove Willow to the Rosenbergs' house and she took him into the house and up to her room, where her bags were packed and the boxes that she was getting sent via courier were clearly labelled with Willow's name and Gibbs' address. Joyce had offered to send them on Monday using the couriers she used through her work, which Gibbs was thankful for. Gibbs opened up his suitcase and Willow loaded up the half he wasn't using with the few things that she was taking with her on the plane that wouldn't fit in her bags, which was less than what Gibbs had anticipated. Then they sat in Willow's almost empty room wordlessly.

"How were the last few days of school?" Gibbs asked. Willow shrugged.

"They were okay. Not much exciting happened. We had exams and I think I did okay on them. My teachers will mail me the results."

Gibbs nodded. "That's good."

"How was your work?" Willow asked.

Gibbs shrugged. "We had a case and we caught the bad guy," he said. It had actually been a bit more involved than that but Gibbs was trying to protect Willow from that. She probably already had dealt with enough gruesomeness through her… nighttime activities.

Willow nodded in acceptance before glancing over at where Gibbs sat.

"I'm glad you're here," she said to him softly, leaning into him. Gibbs slung his arm over her shoulder.

"Me too," Gibbs satisfied himself with saying.


	25. Chapter 24: 15th June, 2007

Xander and Buffy glanced sideways at each other, grinning widely as they watched Willow and her father walk into Snyder's office. The principal seemed to be in one of his worse moods but that was best. Willow had glanced over her shoulder, shooting a sheepish glance at them, before the door was closed.

"She gets all the fun," Buffy pouted quietly as they crept closer to Snyder's office door. "She gets a front row seat."

"I don't know, being in the same room, a confined space, with Gibbs and Snyder while they rip each other's throats out. I feel sorry for her," Cordelia whispered, joining them. Buffy and Xander conceded the cheerleader had a good point. They couldn't say anything though as Snyder had begun to speak.

NCIS/BtVS

"So… Mr. Gibbs. You said on the phone that you are pulling Miss Rosenberg out of Sunnydale High School."

"That's correct," Gibbs replied coolly. Willow shifted in her seat, gaze flickering from one man to the other.

"What gives you the right? I have it on good authority that Willow's legal guardians are Mr. and Mrs. Rosenberg, not a Mr. Gibbs." Snyder scowled at Gibbs, making a show of flicking through Willow's records.

Gibbs pulled out the paperwork, having had the NCIS legal department go over it and make it official while he was back in town, and handed it to the other man. Snyder read over it, his scowl deepening.

"So, Miss Rosenberg is leaving Sunnydale to move in with you in Washington D.C.?"

"Yeah, you got a problem with that?" Gibbs let just a hint of a threat sink into his voice. Snyder smirked.

"Not at all. How fortunate for Miss Rosenberg to have such an opportunity to go to such an… interesting place. I am sure she'll do well there. She is, after all, one of our top students and I will miss seeing her about the school, even after hours when the school is closed."

Willow cringed and she felt Gibbs tense beside her.

"What?" he asked.

"Willow Rosenberg and her little friends are a thorn in my side. When I heard that you were a federal agent, I was hoping you'd take Summers and Harris as well, so you could arrest them."

"On what grounds?" Gibbs growled.

"Breaking and entering on school property, destruction of private and public property, being a public nuisance, take your pick. While Rosenberg is the one I want gone the least, let me tell you that the sooner that group of students and that fool of a librarian are gone from my corridors, the better. I only hope that I get to be the one who has the pleasure of signing the expulsion papers." Snyder cackled. Gibbs looked slightly horrified and Willow had ducked her head.

"You're targeting these kids because of what they do outside of school hours? Those kids have my respect. What they've done to this town, it's more than any group of teenagers should ever have the responsibility of doing!" Gibbs yelled, losing his temper. "I thought they were kidding when they were talking about you but they were right, you really are a troll and a bastard. I'm glad I'm going to get Willow out of here now and if I get word that something happens to Xander or Buffy or Cordelia or Giles here, if one of them gets so much as suspended, then you'll hear from me."

Snyder was stunned and Willow couldn't help but smirk at him, unknowingly imitating her father. She hoped that she never got on her father's bad side, because it had been kind of scary to watch.

"If you'll just hand over Willow's school record so we can pass them onto her new school, we'll be on our way."

"Of course," Snyder stammered, handing over Willow's folder, still in shock. Gibbs took it and rose to his feet.

"Coming, Willow?" he asked over his shoulder. Willow glanced at Snyder, fighting the urge to stick her tongue out at him, before nodding to her former school principal in farewell and following her father to the door. Gibbs pulled the door open and let Willow out first before sending one of his most fierce glares at Snyder and storming from the office, closing the door with a bang behind him.

Willow and Gibbs were both unsurprised to find not only Xander and Buffy waiting for them out in the corridor, but Cordelia and Giles as well. Giles held a cup of tea, watching as the other teenagers leaned casually against the wall, as if they hadn't been clustered against the door, fighting to hold in their giggles as their troll of a principal got screamed at by the federal agent.

"So, we Bronzing tonight, you know, Willow's last night in Sunnydale and all?" Buffy asked. Willow rolled her eyes. She knew they were planning a surprise party for her at the Bronze. Buffy sucked at surprise party planning, but she went along with it. She could act surprised.

"Sounds all right by me, just try to stay out of trouble," Gibbs said. "I'm going to spend the night at my motel. Are you going to spend the night at someone's house?"

"I'm sleeping at Buffy's tonight, since all my stuff is packed up." Willow nodded. Gibbs smiled and pulled Willow into a hug, glancing at his watch. It was three in the afternoon.

"I'll leave you to it then, I'll see you early tomorrow morning."

"I'll see you then, Dad."

"Stay safe," Gibbs whispered softly.

"I will," Willow replied as he kissed the top of her head before moving away with a wave and leaving the school building.

"So, who's ready to begin a night that they'll never forget?" Xander asked, grinning. Willow gulped nervously as Giles left, promising to see her the following morning before she left.

"You guys didn't go too overboard, did you?' Willow asked but the answering smiles she received from Xander, Buffy and Cordy did nothing to reassure her.

NCIS/BtVS

Willow spent the rest of that afternoon with Cordelia, Buffy and Xander, firstly at the mall where the girls did a quick last-minute shop and Xander mostly kept out of the way, before they went back to Buffy's house to get ready. Cordelia pulled her things from her car and they set up camp in Buffy's room, fussing around with makeup and clothes. Xander had watched as Buffy and Cordelia prepared themselves first before getting Willow ready. He was kicked out while they were getting changed but he took the opportunity to get changed into what he was wearing for the evening.

He'd forgotten how long it took girls to get dressed, so he headed downstairs to talk to Joyce, who had smiled, knowing full well why Xander was down with her. One of the disadvantages of having friends that were all girls was having to put up with the lengthy time it took to get ready before going out.

Eventually, Cordy came down the stairs, ordering Xander to come up and rejoin them. Xander had gone happily along with his girlfriend, right up until he got shoved into a seat so Cordelia could do his hair. Xander looked beseechingly at Buffy, his eyes pleading her for assistance. Buffy smirked and shook her head, leaving the room, presumably to check on Willow, who was absent from the room. Xander sighed, giving up as Cordelia approached him and squirted a sizeable amount of hair gel onto her hand. Xander eyed it dubiously before looking up at Cordelia's face.

"Just don't make me look like Angel… Please?" he asked pleadingly.

Cordelia only smirked in reply

NCIS/BtVS

Willow looked at herself in the mirror, her eyes wide. Obviously Cordelia and Buffy had been conspiring against her, because the outfit she had been forced into was nothing like what she would ever consider wearing of her own free will. The tight-fitting denim jeans weren't too bad, she supposed, but the revealing green top and leather jacket she was wearing was very much not her style. It kind of reminded her of Halloween. Buffy had swept Willow's hair up into a bun, leaving loose tendrils dangling down to frame Willow's face. A little make up, more than the nonexistent make up Willow usually wore, and the look was finished. Willow pulled the top up a little, so it covered more of her chest, while at the same time she tried to tug it down a little to cover her stomach.

"You look great Willow, stop worrying. Tonight is about saying goodbye to Sunnydale. Tomorrow you start your new life. Go out with a bang."

Willow arched her eyebrow. "You're making it sound like this is my hen's night or something."

"Don't say that, we've invited Xander and Oz and Angel and Giles. If it was a hen party, they would so not be there. Speaking of Xander, Cordy's done a great job on him."

Willow turned her head so she could face Buffy. "I heard him begging not to be made to look like Angel."

"He saw Cordy with hair gel and panicked," Buffy explained with a grin and Willow laughed.

"You look great, Wills. Come on, time to go," Buffy said, leaving the bedroom.

Willow surveyed herself once more in the mirror before she sighed, picked up her handbag, and followed Buffy from the room.

Buffy hadn't been wrong. Xander did look very dressed up. Cordelia seemed to have been trying to emulate Tony's hairstyle with the hair gel and she'd done a pretty good job with it. Xander looked a lot like a younger version of his cousin. Joyce smiled and snapped a picture of the foursome on her camera before passing the camera to Cordelia with a smile. Cordy nodded and discreetly tucked the camera into her bag.

Willow, Cordelia, Xander and Buffy trooped out into the night, climbing into Cordelia's car. Cordy drove to the Bronze, which was dark. Willow frowned suspiciously. This looked like it was going to be a repeat of Buffy's most recent birthday. Hopefully it wouldn't end with a part of the Judge showing up as a present.

Cordelia and Xander led the way into the nightclub and Willow groaned as Buffy covered her eyes with her hands and pushed her towards the club.

"Please don't let this be too embarrassing," Willow begged as they crossed the threshold of the building and stepped into the main room of the Bronze.

"SURPRISE!" Many different voices yelled as Buffy pulled her hand away. Willow's jaw dropped.

Oz and the rest of the band were up on stage, waving. There was a banner with 'Goodbye Willow, We'll miss you' painted onto it slung from the stage lights. Cordelia, Xander, Giles and Angel were standing around a table. A few other people, like Amy Madison and some other people from school that Willow got along with, were also around, waving happily at Willow. Willow gazed around the room, her eyes filling up with tears. Xander was at her side in a second, his arms around her and rubbing her back soothingly. Willow leaned her head against his shoulder.

"It's okay, Wills, you're going to be fine. All of these people wanted to say goodbye. They heard that you were leaving and came up to me asking if they could say goodbye. Buffy told them to come to your farewell party," he explained. Willow smiled tearfully up at Xander, before hugging him tightly and stepping away so that the other members of the Scooby Gang could come up and hug her, as well as the other friends of Willow that were there. As embarrassed as she was, Willow was touched that so many people had come to say goodbye to her. She wasn't the most popular person in the whole school and she knew it, so she was surprised by the turnout.

Resigning herself to the fact that the party had been organized for her, Willow allowed herself to relax and enjoy it.

NCIS/BtVS

Later that night, Willow found herself with the other Scoobies on patrol, having been told that she had to come and help patrol one last time. It was a pleasant night and they walked through the cemeteries grouped together. Willow found herself committing the moment to memory, unsure of when the next time she would have the opportunity to patrol the cemeteries of the Hellmouth with the rest of the Scooby Gang would be. Although she was sure that she would one day return to Sunnydale, there was always a possibility that someone might be killed or that someone might leave, either by choice or after being forced, and then it wouldn't be the whole Scooby Gang she would be returning to.

Regardless of how sentimental the patrol was, Willow didn't get caught up in the moment, knowing the dangers of running blind. The memory of her encounter with the demon those few short weeks ago when Gibbs had learned the truth was still fresh in her mind. That was why, when the gang were unknowingly surrounded by game-faced vampires, fifteen in all, Willow felt prepared and jumped into the fray, her stake out.

Willow dodged the strikes of her opponent, ducking down and keeping low, before kicking out at the very tall vampire's legs. The vampire caught her leg just before she would have made contact and tossed her to the ground but Willow jumped straight back up and jumped forward, plunging her stake into the vampire's chest. The vampire let out a piercing scream before it exploded into dust. Willow turned but the rest of the vampires had been dealt with by the rest of the gang. Willow brushed some dust off her clothes.

"Well, that was exciting," Buffy commented to break the silence. "You and Xander are getting much better now," she said to Willow as the group drew close together.

"Thanks, I figured that, well, I need to be able to, you know, fend for myself now, since you're not going to be around, even though I'm not going to be patrolling or anything. My dad will probably have enemies that wouldn't mind seeing me hurt or, you know, dead. I figure vampires are good training for, I don't know, rogue Marines or whoever tries to come and get me." Willow shrugged. Buffy put an arm around Willow's shoulder.

"You're going to be fine, Willow. Nothing's going to happen to you or to Gibbs or to any of the others, all right. We'll be okay as well. Nothing's going to happen to us either," Buffy reassured.

"I know, but still, I'm a bit freaked by the whole thing. Leaving Sunnydale, starting a new life on the other side of the country, new school, new friends, new family, new house, new city, not to mention no Hellmouth and no Slayage. It's going to be very weird."

"I think you'll go okay, Willow. I have confidence in you, we all do."

"Thanks, Buffy." Willow smiled before the two girls embraced in a hug.


	26. Chapter 25: 16th June, 2007

The day that Willow Rosenberg was to leave Sunnydale dawned brightly. Willow watched as the sun rose from Buffy's bedroom Window. She'd gone past her parent's house one last time the previous night during patrol, and had double checked that she had everything she would need. Satisfied that she'd gotten all of her belongings together, Willow removed her set of house keys from her key ring, and set them on the kitchen counter, where the Rosenbergs would see them the next time they came home. Perhaps she was being melodramatic, but getting rid of her key to the Rosenberg's house seemed a fitting way to offer closure to that part of her life. Her last few bags were sitting beside her bed in the spare room, and everything else that was being sent to Washington was in Buffy's garage, waiting for the truck to come and collect it.

Like they had when Willow had first found out that she was leaving Sunnydale, Xander and Cordelia had stayed over, the Scoobies once again taking over the floor of Joyce's living room. Angel had gone back home after Patrol, hugging Willow goodbye since he wasn't going to be seeing her in the morning. Willow had been sad to say goodbye to the broody vampire, and hoped that maybe in the future he and Xander would get along better, since she got the feeling Angel didn't have many friends among the rest of the gang. Oz too had declined Buffy's invitation to stay over, but had said that he would be there to say goodbye to Willow before she left with Gibbs.

Willow had not slept well, too nervous and excited about the move to manage more than a few short hours sleep before it was time to get up and get ready for Gibbs to pick her up. Her stomach was churning with nerves as she triple checked everything was packed in her suitcases, and that she had everything she might need.

Buffy, Cordelia and Xander watched on helplessly as Willow hurried around the house, chewing her lip and looking, for lack of a better word, petrified. Joyce had gotten up early with the teenagers, and was making breakfast down in the kitchen, but none of them were convinced that Willow would be tempted into eating anything the way she was acting. Eventually Buffy reached out her arm tentatively.

"Willow, it's okay. You haven't forgotten anything. Everything's still there, just like the last three times you checked. Sit down and have a break. Mom's making chocolate pancakes again, and I know she's made some of that berry sauce stuff that you like so much to go with them. Your Dad's not going to be here for at least another forty minutes, so come on, let's head downstairs and have something to eat. You know how yuck airplane food is, and you don't want to have to wait until you get to Washington until you get to eat something. It's a long way away, after all." Buffy counseled patiently. Willow stopped moving her bags about, pursing her lips and dropping her head.

"Okay" she nodded, her lips pursed. Xander took Willow's hand, and led her down stairs to the dining room, where Joyce had set the table. It was a touch formal for a breakfast, but it was Willow's last meal in Sunnydale, so Joyce thought the occasion called for it.

Xander, knowing that Willow wasn't going to be very hungry, only put two of the pancakes on her plate, and Willow shot a grateful sideways glance in his direction. Xander nodded in response. He didn't want his best friend getting sick because she was so nervous.

The group ate in silence, short glances between them the only form of interaction taking place. Willow managed her two pancakes in the same amount of time it took Buffy and Xander to consume five each. They helped clear the table, before Joyce shooed them from the kitchen and into the living room so they could wait for Gibbs to arrive. Not long after they'd finished eating, Oz knocked on the door, smiling sadly, and pulling Willow into a hug. No matter how well he would get to know each of the others, Willow would truly be the one who brought him into the Scooby gang. He would be lost without them, or even more likely he would be dead at the hands of some hunter, shot during a transformation.

The Scooby gang waited some more. Buffy and Cordelia tried to start idle conversation, but silence always prevailed after a few minutes.

Giles was the next to arrive, accepting a cup of tea from Joyce with thanks as he sat down on a chair and watched his charges. They all looked so gloomy, and Willow looked so scared, as if she was facing her death. He remembered back to his first day at Sunnydale high. Willow had been the first student he'd met, when she wandered into the library and offered to help him sort books. In the time since then, both before and after Buffy's arrival in Sunnydale, Willow had proven herself to be kind, intelligent, compassionate, loyal, brave, resourceful and determined to protect those who couldn't protect themselves, even though it hadn't been so long ago when she'd been utterly defenseless against Vampires and the other forces of darkness that they came across in their slaying duties. It was true that Willow was no-where near as skilled a fighter as Buffy or Angel, or even Xander, but she showed a lot of promise, and with time and training, something that Giles had sadly not had the time to give her, Willow had the potential to have become a good fighter, or even a potential student of the magical arts. Although ultimately Giles was glad that one of his pseudo children had been given the opportunity to be free of the dangers the supernatural world presented, he was sad that it meant that he wouldn't see Willow grow up into the exceptional young woman that he was sure she would become. He'd known that a day would come when one or more of the children would leave, to attend college, or to travel, or to seek out some alternative calling, but he'd always thought that it would happen after they had graduated. Willow was leaving a full year ahead of schedule.

Looking around at the group, Giles could see how sad the other children were. Willow was sandwiched in between Xander and Buffy on the couch and they both had their arms around her. Oz and Cordelia were sitting in armchairs, watching the trio, the original Scoobies. Oz was naturally quiet, but Cordelia wasn't known for her solemnity. Giles found his attitude towards the cheerleader growing as she respected the other's right to be sad about Willow leaving, and seemed to be sad about the red haired hacker leaving as well. .

Giles was drawn from his musing when there was a knocking at the door. He saw the others all stiffen apprehensively, and Xander's arms tightened around Willow. Willow had raised her face, watching the front door, her features trying to hide how frightened she was. Joyce opened the door, and stepped aside, admitting Gibbs into the house.

Giles noticed the way that Special Agent Gibbs' gaze immediately sought out his daughter, fixing on her, as if reassuring himself that Willow was safe and uninjured. It was pleasing for him, and Giles knew that Gibbs would take good care of Willow, even better care o her than he himself had in the past, since Gibbs could focus solely on Willow, and didn't have a slayer and another teenager to worry about. Approaching Gibbs Giles held out his hand, which Gibbs shook.

"Special Agent Gibbs, I hope you look after Willow in the manner that she deserves. She's a wonderful girl; you should be honored to have her as a daughter. She's been through so much, and yet her character is so strong and determined. I think I understand where that comes from now."

Gibbs nodded, "Thank-you, Giles, for looking our for Willow, I know that you mean a lot to her, to all of them," Gibbs glanced at the other assembled Scoobies, "I'll encourage her to stay in contact with you."

Giles nodded, and a little bit of Ripper, the part of him that was the most overprotective of the Scoobies, slip though to his persona, "I appreciate it, Special Agent Gibbs. And, off the record, if I ever get the faintest suggestion that you aren't treating Willow the way she deserves to be, you will answer to me."

Gibbs nodded, he'd been expecting the threat, "I understand, you don't need to worry about it though."

"I hope not. I hope your journey back to Washington goes well."

"Thank you" Gibbs replied, and Giles moved away, a slightly shell-shocked look on his face, as if he'd only just realized that he'd effectively threatened a federal Agent, and was technically luck he wasn't being lead away in handcuffs at that moment. He glanced over at where Gibbs had finally gotten to Willow, and was holding her in an embrace, and shook his head. He doubted that the threat would ever be carried out, Gibbs obviously cared for Willow greatly, especially given what had happened to Willow's mother and sister the day she'd been born, but he felt better after saying it. Willow was going to be well looked after, but if she wasn't, then Gibbs would face the wrath of Ripper.

NCIS/BtVS

Willow glanced at the clock, knowing that she would need to start saying her goodbyes if she was going to make one last stop after leaving Buffy's before leaving Sunnydale. She started off with what she thought would be the least painful farewell, and approached Joyce.

"Thank-you for having me to stay lately, Mrs. Summers, I hope I didn't inconvenience you to much."

"It was nothing, Willow. You're a wonderful girl. I hope your new life is as wonderful as you are. If you need anything don't hesitate to call. I'll get those things of yours sent off on Monday, so you shouldn't have to wait too long for them."

"Thanks Mrs. Summers. I really appreciate it," Willow smiled, and let the older woman pull her into a hug. At the start of the hole fiasco Joyce Summers had simply been Buffy's kindly mother. Now Joyce meant so much more than that to Willow, a surrogate mother for when her own adopted mother had brutally ripped her heart apart.

Willow next walked over to Cordy, offering the brunette her hand to shake formally. Cordelia had been nice to her throughout the ordeal, something everyone was in surprise over.

"Um, yeah." Willow smiled awkwardly, "I guess this is goodbye."

"I guess so. You take care of yourself, okay. I don't want to deal with Xander when he gets all mopey because something's happened to you, and the rest of us are actually going to have to put in effort when we research things now, because you and Giles used to do it all."

Willow simply looked at Cordelia with a pointed look. Cordelia shrugged,.

"What do you want me to say. I'll miss you. Ah, the hell with it, my reputations already gone to hell, and it is so totally you guy's fault," And with that Cordelia pulled Willow into a short hug.

"You make sure that no one ever says anything bitchy to you, all right. I'm the only one allowed to do that."

"Thanks, Cordelia. You know, you're not so bad. Look after Xander for me, and the others, please?" Willow asked while they were still close, 'and maybe, could you, I don't know, it would mean a lot."

"Oh, just spit it out…"

"Could you visit Jesse's memorial. You know, make sure it's tidy, leave flowers occasionally and keep him up to date with what's going on. That kind of thing."

Cordy's eyes briefly clouded over in un-shed tears as she thought of the goofball that had chased after her since Junior high, "I'll take care of him, and of Xander." She finally said, and Willow stepped back.

"Thank-you" Willow nodded, before moving away from the cheerleader, wondering if she should resign her position as a member of the We hate Cordelia club. She crossed the room, over to Oz, who she hugged.

"Thanks, for everything. You've helped me realize that…that what I am doesn't define who I am." Oz said quietly. Willow nodded.

"Don't ever forget it, Oz." she told him, "No matter what happens. Good luck with the band and everything."

"Thanks. I'll call you if we're ever in D.C."

"You better." Willow smiled. Oz leaned forward and kissed Willow on the forehead.

""I'll miss you. I'm sorry we didn't work out."

"I'll miss you too. It was probably for the best. You know what they say about long distance relationships." Willow smiled. Oz nodded, and Willow stepped away, her green eyes falling upon Giles, who returned her look with a comforting smile, his eyes glistening with un-shed tears. She was dreading this goodbye, but Willow knew that it needed to be said, and soon. She walked up to the older man, and smiled sadly.

"Thank-you…for everything. Xander and I would be long dead without you and Buffy there watching our backs and teaching us about…everything that we needed to know."

Giles smiled back at Willow, ignoring how Gibbs had cringed at Willow's mention of being dead, "It was my pleasure, really Willow. You're a remarkable young woman; I've never met someone as intelligent as you. I shall be very sad to see you go."

"I wouldn't go that far… all those people at Oxford." Willow replied.

There are different types of intelligence, and you exhibit so many of them that overall you are more intelligent than the smartest scholar." Giles explained. Willow sniffed, and reached out for Giles. Giles took her and pulled her into a hug.

"Please be safe," he begged into the top of her head, and Willow nodded into his chest.

"I'll try, and I'll stay in touch, I promise." Willow said to Giles, who nodded.

"I hope so. Go on, you still need to say goodbye to Xander and Buffy."

"I know. Bye Giles."

"Goodbye, Willow."

Willow stepped back, shooting a sad smile at Giles before she walked over to Buffy.

"I guess this is it then." Buffy said. Willow shrugged, tears running down her cheeks.

"I'll miss you, Buffy."

"I'll miss you too, Will. Sunnydale's not going to be the same without you." Buffy smiled sadly, tears beginning to gather in the corners of her eyes, "You look after yourself. Giles is right, not all dangers out there are supernatural."

Willow nodded, "I know, Buffy. You keep slaying, I don't want the world to end and not be ready for it."

"You bet'cha." Buffy smiled, before they hugged. Willow gasped.

"Buffy…Air"

Buffy hastily loosened her grip.

'Sorry Willow," She smiled sheepishly.

"That's alright. I'll miss the slayer strength hugs. Thanks for being my friend."

"Thanks for being MY friend, even with the whole, you know, Slayer thing." Buffy replied. The pair broke apart, and Buffy nodded.

"You'll be okay, I know you will be."

"How do you know that?" Willow asked.

Buffy smirked, "Hey, I am a slayer after all."

Willow giggled, before she took and faced the goodbye that was going to be the hardest.

Xander

She took a single look at her best friend, before she flung herself into his waiting arms. Xander buried his head in Willow's long red hair.

"I'll never forget you, Willow. You've always been there for me for as long as I can remember. It's always been you and me…and sometimes Jessie, and then it was Buffy, but first there was you. You stood beside me no matter what, even when it felt like everyone…and everything in the world was against us. Do you remember the yellow crayon, from the first day of Kindergarten You're like my sister, as well as my best friend, and nothing…no one can ever take that away. Not even us being on opposite sides of the country. I love you, Willow." Xander cried into Willow's hair.

Willow's shoulders shook as she sobbed at Xander's words, "Xander, I'm going to miss you so much. Maybe you can come and visit me up in Washington, and then you can see Tony as well. I love you too, Xander. You're like my brother, as well as being my best friend. You've always been there for me, like when we used to play together, and when you used to stand up for me when Cordelia picked on me, and you used to hug me when I was sad…and you still do that because you're doing it now. I've still got the crayon, I think of you every time I see it, and I smile, because we've got so many good memories. I love how you do the Snoopy dance, and I'm going to miss seeing you do it. Please don't go out and get yourself hurt, Xander. I don't want anything bad to happen to you. You need to listen to Giles and Buffy, and, I Know you don't like him, but listen to Angel too, because they know what they're talking about, and they'll look out for you." Willow babbled in one long continuous stream that no one except for Xander could understand.

"Willow, that was impressive, even for you." Xander laughed, "You were good to get it out of your system know though, because I don't think Special Agent Gibbs or any of the others is going to be able to understand you."

"I'll have to teach them then, won't I." Willow said with a sad smile, tears still rolling freely down her cheeks.

"Yeah, you do that. You look after yourself too, okay. I don't want to be the last musketeer any more than you do.

" Okay, you promise to email and stay in touch."

"Are you kidding, I'm going to have to get Oz to teach me how to Email so I can do it from home, because just during school isn't going to be often enough."

Willow crunched up her nose, "Maybe not that often Xander, and Even though I'm gone, you've got to keep having fun, and all that, don't miss me too much that you'll get all mopey and sad, because then Cordelia will email me and whine, and it won't be fun for any of us."

Xander laughed, "all right, don't mope too much, for Willow's sake. Got it. I'll miss you Will."

"Miss you too, Xan."

Xander glanced at Gibbs, who was waiting with the patience of a trained sniper, "You better go, I'll…I'll see you later."

Willow nodded, knowing that she would never be able to say the word goodbye to Xander, just like he seemed unable to say it to her. Goodbye was too final.

"Yeah, I'll see you later too." Willow said, stepping out of Xander's arms. Xander grabbed her hand, letting it slide from his fingers as she stepped away from him.

Willow walked away from Xander biting her lip at the look upon her best friends face as she walked away from him and to her father. Gibbs had watched the farewells being exchanged in silence, wondering, not for the first time, if he was doing the right thing. Willow picked up her bags that she was taking, which Giles and Buffy had gone and brought down, and Gibbs took one of them off her to lighten the load for her. Willow smiled a small smile of thanks at him, before he lead everyone out the front door to the car, where he and Willow deposited the bags into the trunk.

"Well I guess this is it then. I'll stay in touch, I promise. Stay safe. Good luck with everything." Willow said as she approached the front passenger seat door.

"See you later, Willow" Buffy and Cordelia called out, and Joyce waved. Giles was furiously wiping his eyes and polishing his glasses, and Xander, flanked by Buffy and Cordelia, simply watched her.

"Bye Willow" he mouthed and Willow nodded.

"Bye Xander" she replied, before she pulled the door open and got into the car, fastening her seat-belt, and waving at the group as Gibbs pulled out from the kerb, up until he turned the corner, and they were out of sight.

"Can we just make one last stop; I promise it won't take long."

Gibbs nodded, having actually been surprised how quick the goodbyes were taking. He'd allowed for a lot longer in his planning of what time he would need to collect Willow in order to get to the airport on time. Willow gave him directions, which lead to a cemetery, although one that was out of the way, and it looked newer and Gibbs hadn't been past there before. Willow pulled a small bundle of flowers from the top of her carry on bag and got out of the car. Gibbs got out too, but instead of following Willow he leaned against the front of the car, watching as Willow walked between the rows of markers and crosses until she reached a simple plaque.

Willow looked down at the plaque at her feet, chewing her lip. The cemetery she was in wasn't one of the major ones, and the Scooby gang had never bothered to patrol there, for the simple reason that it was very rare for anyone to actually be buried there. The cemetery was, unofficially, more of a memorial to those who went missing unexpectedly, and no body was ever found. Now that she knew the truth about Sunnydale's nightlife, Willow suspected that most of the individuals that had markers here had either been turned, like Jesse had been, or had been consumed entirely by a demon of some sort.

Now, she stood at Jesse's memorial. It was simple, Jesse's family hadn't struggled financially, but they had left town shortly after Jesse's dissapearance, haunted by the memories Sunnydale bore of thier lost son.  Really, the marked had been put there by Jesse's family for her and Xander to visit and mourn for their lost friend. Willow crouched down and placed the flowers next to the plaque.

"I miss you Jesse. You and Xander would always make me laugh, even when Cordy was being mean. I'm leaving now, my real dad's come to take me, even though you probably already know that, since you can probably see everything we do. Anyway, I've asked Cordy to look after your memorial for me, because Xander's going to be upset about me leaving, and I thought you might like it, since you liked Cordy so much. I know we always used to hate her, but she's not too bad, especially now that she's being nice to me and Xander. They're even dating. I have to go, but I'll never forget you."

Remembering her heritage, Willow removed a few stones from her pocket and put them upon the plaque, before she kissed her fingers and put them on the plaque, before she got back up.

"Bye Jesse," she said sadly, before she turned her back and began to walk away, a sense of closure filling her. She'd said goodbye to everyone that meant something to her in Sunnydale. Now she was ready to start her new life millions of miles away from Sunnydale, with her father and his team. She felt a thrill of excitement go through her, and smiled as she got into the car, and Gibbs did the same. As they passed the welcome to Sunnydale sign, Willow closed her eyes, breathed out and didn't look back.

**A.N. And with that, Willow departs Sunnydale. I'm sorry the chapter was so long, but it just kept going, and i didn't want to split it. I hope you enjoyed it, although it was a bit sad to write.**


	27. Chapter 26: 16th June, 2007

Willow felt her already high nerves escalate as she felt the plane begin to drop through the clouds that it had previously been cruising along the top of. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she realized that very soon she would be landing in a city where she knew very few people and none of them she knew well. Maybe she and Gibbs had rushed the entire process and they should have stayed in Sunnydale over the summer, coming over just before the new school year was to start, or maybe she could have asked Giles or Oz or Xander to come with her and stay for a week or two. She knew that there was no way Buffy would be able to leave the Hellmouth (although she had done so over the summer months previously) and Willow wasn't sure about Cordelia, their friendship was still a very new thing after so many years of being enemies.

She glanced across at Gibbs… her father and she felt guilt well up inside her. She could see where he was coming from in his eagerness to get her safely to his home. He'd lost everything the day Shannon and Kelly had died… the day she'd been born and Willow had prepared herself for being the subject of an overprotective father in the most extreme of ways. It would be a huge change, going from a couple who took absenteeism-style parenting to the extremes to living with a man who was likely to give his own unique version of the shovel speech to anyone who dared to even think about asking her out.

She felt horrid. She was focusing on her own fear and ignoring how happy he must feel to, for the first time in sixteen years, have one of his children living with him.

"You okay, Willow?" Gibbs asked softly from his seat beside her. Willow swallowed and nodded.

"Just a little bit nervous," she said, her mouth going dry. Gibbs smiled reassuringly.

"You'll be okay."

"I hope so," Willow managed.

Gibbs said nothing but he touched her hand lightly in reassurance. Willow closed her eyes and thought back to their arrival at LAX.

They were met at the check in counter by a pair of agents from the NCIS LA office, who apparently had worked with Gibbs before. Gibbs had handed over the car keys and they'd been given the plane tickets. Willow had noticed the curious glances the two other agents had been shooting in her direction. It had been slightly unnerving but Willow had tried to ignore it, knowing that she was going to have to get used to being looked at curiously, especially while she was still a novelty. She hoped that once she'd been around Gibbs for a while, the novelty would wear off and she would get to go back to being Willow, the unnoticed wallflower of old.

Of course, Willow doubted that the novelty would ever wear off for her father but she consoled herself with the thought that it would be nice to finally have a parent that actually cared about her.

NCIS/BtVS

Willow followed Gibbs up the walkway from the plane into the airport.

"Do you know how we're getting to your house?" Willow asked curiously.

"Ducky or one of my team are going to come and get us, depending on how busy NCIS is," Gibbs replied. Willow nodded. From what she'd heard from Tony, Tim and Ziva, Ducky was a nice guy. He sounded a lot like Giles, full of stories and anecdotes and very kind to everyone unless you hurt someone he cared about.

Even so, Willow couldn't help that a small part of her wanted nothing more than to scream and run back to the plane so she could fly back to the, well, not so much safety, but the familiarity of Sunnydale.

It was too late for that though, as Willow followed Gibbs out into the arrivals lounge. Gibbs led her towards baggage claim and Willow looked around her. It was very serious, lots of people in suits and not nearly as relaxed as what she had seen in L.A. Willow supposed it was because of the political nature of the city but it was interesting.

They waited in silence for the luggage carousel to begin to turn and theirs was some of the first through, something for which Willow was grateful, because Gibbs didn't appear to be very patient with technology.

Obviously, she'd picked that up from her mother or something, because she was pretty sure it didn't come from Gibbs.

Gibbs took Willow through security, flashing his badge to get the security officers to okay his carrying a gun in the airport, just like he had in L.A, before they reached the foyer of the airport. Willow scanned the crowd, looking for anyone who looked familiar, but Gibbs obviously spotted whoever was picking them up first, nudging Willow gently in the arm and leading her in one direction. Willow quickly followed him, pulling her suitcase along behind her.

NCIS/BtVS

Ducky smiled as he saw Jethro weaving his way through the crowd and nodded at his friend appreciatively. Then Ducky saw the girl trailing after Gibbs, looking frightened and awestruck at the same time. He immediately knew that this was Willow, simply from the descriptions of the others and the resemblance she bore to Shannon Gibbs, from the images Ducky had seen of the poor woman anyway.

Ducky was glad he'd chosen a quiet corner of the foyer to wait in, as there weren't that many people milling around and talking, making it quieter than most of the rest of the large room.

"Ah, Jethro, good flight?" Ducky asked as Gibbs reached him. Gibbs shrugged.

"Can't complain. Ducky, this is my daughter, Willow. Willow, this is Dr. Mallard, the medical examiner at NCIS."

"Um, hi, it's nice to meet you, Dr. Mallard," Willow said as she shook hands with Ducky. He smiled.

"Call me Ducky, my dear. Anthony and the others have told me so much about you, all of it good."

"They told me lots of good things about you too, Ducky," Willow replied with a shy smile, her cheeks coloring slightly at the thought of Gibbs' team talking about her to their colleagues.

"Ah, yes, I imagine they would have. Are you all set, Jethro? It is getting late, and you are probably both very tired after your long journey," Ducky said to Gibbs. Gibbs nodded.

"Excellent," Ducky said, heading for the nearest exist. He led the way to where he'd parked his car and opened up the trunk. Gibbs put his and Willow's suitcases in there and climbed into the front seat. Willow scrambled into the back.

"Have you ever been to the capitol before, Willow?' Ducky asked, looking briefly over his shoulder as he drove so he could see Willow while he was talking to her. Willow shook her head.

"No, before today the furthest from Sunnydale that I've ever been was L.A.," she replied.

Ducky chuckled. "Ah, this reminds me of when I first arrived in the United States…" he began. Willow listened to the sound of his voice, similar but yet very different compared to Giles', intently, latching onto the even slight connection Ducky offered back to Sunnydale.

"Duck," Gibbs said from the passenger seat. Ducky nodded.

"Another time then, perhaps. I trust that you were able to complete your year of studies?" Ducky asked. Willow nodded.

"Yes, all my exams finished a few days ago. Then my friends helped me pack up all my stuff, and then yesterday Buffy and Cordelia took me shopping, and then we all went out last night. It was pretty fun. All these friends of ours were there. Buffy kind of stinks at surprise party planning but it was still nice of her to try."

"That was very nice of her," Ducky agreed.

They fell into a comfortable silence again as Ducky drove away from the airport. The traffic wasn't too bad, since it was a weekend, and not many people were trying to get to or from work in the evening light, so it didn't take long for Ducky to pull his car up outside Gibbs' house. Willow looked thoughtfully up at the house through the dim light given off by the streetlights as she got out of the car. Gibbs moved more quickly and got the suitcases from the trunk of Ducky's car.

"Willow, this is my house," Gibbs told her. "Your house now too." He passed her a key and indicated with his eyes that he wanted her to open the door. Willow hurried to obey, sliding the key into the lock and turning it, as Gibbs and Ducky followed, carrying the luggage. She turned the key until she heard the door click and twisted the knob, pushing the door open. Willow sheepishly stepped over the threshold into the darkened house, half-expecting Tony, Ziva, McGee and whoever else might have been invited to jump out to surprise her, but as she walked further into the house and Gibbs and Ducky followed her in and the lights were flicked on, the house proved to be empty.

Willow was inwardly grateful. It wasn't that she didn't like her father's team, but she was tired after the long flight and she was emotionally exhausted after the last few weeks she had experienced, let alone saying goodbye to everyone that morning. She wasn't in the mood for a party.

Now that the lights were on, Willow could see the inside of the house clearly. It was so… homelike, such a stark contrast to the Rosenbergs' house in Sunnydale. It was warm and welcoming and comfortable, not cold and hard like the house Willow had grown up in. Willow could tell that a single guy had been living in the house for a while with little female influence. It felt very masculine but there was some soft femininity in some areas, probably traces and marks left by her mother and Gibbs' three ex wives.

Gibbs pointed out the living room, kitchen, dining room, laundry and the downstairs bathroom before leading Willow upstairs. He showed Willow his bedroom and the guest bedroom (formerly Kelly's room) before he opened the door to Willow's new room. Willow stepped into the room, instantly falling in love with it. There was a double bed and a desk and a bookshelf and a chest of drawers built into a dressing table with a mirror. All of the furniture was wooden and Willow suspected that it had all, or at least mostly, been made by her father's own hand. She smiled and turned to face Gibbs.

"Thank you… for everything. I really appreciate it. It's so perfect."

"Glad you like it, Willow," Gibbs smiled and the smile on his face widened when Willow hugged him. Ducky discreetly put Willow suitcase down on the floor.

"I'll just leave this here, then," he told them. Willow nodded.

"Thank you very much, Ducky, for bringing my bags in."

"It was my pleasure my dear. Jethro, I'm afraid that I need to be off, Mother will be wondering where I am."

"Sure, Duck, I'll see you on Tuesday. Willow, you got everything out of the car?"

"Yes." Willow nodded, checking to see that she still had everything.

"Good, see you Tuesday, Ducky." Gibbs smiled at his friend

"Goodbye, Willow, I hope to see you again soon." Ducky waved.

"Me too, it was nice to meet you Ducky," Willow replied. Gibbs and Ducky headed downstairs, and Willow, after hesitating briefly, followed them down. She and Gibbs waved Ducky off from the front porch and then headed back inside once the kindly medical examiner had gone.

"I've just go one more thing to show you," Gibbs said with a smirk. Willow smiled in anticipation, although her puzzlement showed on her face as Gibbs led her to the door that leads down to the basement. Gibbs opened the door and turned on the light, leading Willow down the stairs. Willow's jaw dropped as she saw the half finished boat that was there.

"Wow, a boat. You're building a boat in your basement. That's… um, different." Willow furrowed her brow. "How do you get it out?" she asked.

"Break the bottle," Gibbs said with a smirk and a shrug. Willow stepped closer so she could examine the boat more closely.

"And you do this all yourself?" she asked. Gibbs shrugged.

"Pretty much. Sometimes Tony or one of the others will come down if they want to talk to me and do some sanding, but other than that."

"Wow, I'd never do anything this big. I don't know enough," Willow admitted. Giles had taught her the basics of whittling and she had her own special whittling knife that he'd given her. It was tucked up safely in the things Joyce was sending, away from airport security.

"Have you used wood like this before?" Gibbs asked. Willow chewed her lip.

"Only, you know, for study group-related things."

"Giles taught you all how to carve wood?" Gibbs asked. Willow shrugged.

"We all helped out making stakes. A lot of the time, if you don't pull out fast enough, your stake goes poof with the vamp, so you go through a fair few."

Gibbs nodded, figuring that for Willow, helping to maintain a supply of stakes for the group to use was just like cleaning and sharpening a knife for Ziva or cleaning a gun for him or Tony, just part of the process of being a member of the… what did they call it again? The Scooby Gang. Gibbs' mind was filled with memories of the corny cartoon show that Kelly had loved about a group of people and their dog who hunted supernatural things, which almost always turned out to be people in disguise.

"I have to ask, the title the Scooby Gang, from those old cartoons?" Gibbs asked.

Willow smiled brightly and nodded to herself. "Naturally, and they're not that old. It was Xander's idea of course. We all identified with a member of that gang, well, at least Xander, Buffy and I did, anyway, and Cordy had her part in making it our little group's title and Oz had a van that we used a bit, so that just sort of added to the symbolism. It kind of stuck, and well, it was appropriate."

Gibbs nodded. It did seem to fit, considering what the group did.

"Willow, seriously, are you considering continuing to… hunt… in D.C., because there is no way I'm letting you keep the practice up."

"I wasn't really thinking of it. I mean, I might do a patrol if there's a cemetery near here, but really it was Buffy and Angel that did most of the fighting. I helped research and did backup if there was a big bad that needed beating," Willow admitted. "I was just the sidekick, Buffy was the heroine."

Gibbs shook his head, approaching Willow and softly cupping her cheek in his palm to make sure that her eyes were meeting his.

"I'm sure you did a heck of a lot more than that, Willow. I'm so proud of what you accomplished but don't even think about doing it here in D.C. It's not the demonic monsters I'm worried about, it's the human kind," he told her seriously.


	28. CHapter 27: 16th and 17th June, 2007

Willow hadn't been lying when she'd told Gibbs that she had no intention at that point of actively patrolling D.C. As far non demonic monsters went, that is, humans, Washing D.C. was far more dangerous than Sunnydale, and Willow was too frightened to even consider stepping outside the safety of the house without someone she trusted watching her back, however, that didn't mean that she wasn't going to be unprepared. If their was a perceived threat of the supernatural variety, and Willow knew how to take it down, either through researching, or through past experience, she would try to face it, or would call Giles for suggestions as to what she should do, and she was going to start building up a small supply of slaying equipment, starting with some stakes. Giles was sending some crosses and holy water for protection, but Willow knew their might be a time when she might need something more than that.

Gibbs and Willow were still in the basement, and Gibbs shifted awkwardly and picked up his sander, passing one to Willow, who took it gingerly. Smiling, Gibbs took Willow's hands and led her overt to a portion of the boat he's sanded, running her fingers against in, before he moved to an unfinished spot, and let her feel the difference.

"You can't really muck this up, just go with the grain of the wood," He instructed. Willow slowly began to run the sandpaper across the wood's surface, glancing from the boat to her father's face, looking, hoping for a sign that she was doing it right, for approval. Gibbs caught her eye and smiled encouragingly. Willow felt her cheeks redden in pleasure and ducked her head a little as se continued to sand away at the wood. After a little while, satisfied that Willow knew what she was doing, Gibbs moved a short distance away and began to sand his own portion of the boat. Father and daughter worked in silence, both of them inhaling the smell of sawdust and sneaking short glances at one another. Willow couldn't believe it. She and her father were doing something together, creating something together. She and Ira Rosenberg hadn't done anything like this since he helped her and Xander build a synagogue out of lego bricks when they were six. Gibbs was trusting her to work on something he obviously treasured and cared about.

Gibbs couldn't help but think of other assistant boat builders he'd had over the years, two in particular stuck in his mind. The first wore dresses, also had long red hair, and liked to wear fairy wings and crowns, because apparently fairy princesses built boats for daddy to go and sail in and fight the pirates. The other was older, Italian, and was forever convinced that he was going to break the boat and often needed to be convinced otherwise with a swift head slap. Willow reminded him of both, he she quietly chuckled to himself as he thought of the three. Had he had the chance, Tony would have doted on Kelly and Willow, as if they were his own younger sisters. Gibbs had already seen how Tony had started to look at Willow very much in the same way as he looked at Abby, and sometimes McGee, with the protective eyes of an older brother.

Gibbs was pleased with this. Unlike Tim, Abby and to a certain extent Ziva, Tony had no family, except for his father, who Gibbs suspected had abused Tony before disowning him, so Gibbs had come to see Tony as his own son and the younger agent had filled part of the hole left in Gibbs' heart left by Kelly's premature death and the loss of Willow. In almost every respect, other than blood, Tony was Willow's older brother, as far as Gibbs was concerned. If something happened to him before Willow turned eighteen, Ducky and Tony would become her guardians. Gibbs smiled as he reflected back on that particular discussion. Ducky had been deeply honoured and touched by the gesture, while Tony had simply been shocked, his green eyes wide in shock.

"You sure you trust me with your daughter, Boss? I mean, yeah, I'm touched that you thought of me and Ducky, but Gibbs, I don't know the first thing about teenagers, especially girls, and Willow isn't really what I call a textbook teenaged girl, if you get what I mean. Wouldn't, I don't know, Fornell or Abby be a better choice."

Gibbs had smacked Tony's head, just in order to shut him up.

"DiNozzo, I trust you every day to have my six, don't i?"

"Yes boss,"

"And I rely on you to look out for myself and the rest of our team, don't I?"

"Yes Boss,"

"And have you ever failed me. No you haven't."

"Well actually…" Tony began, thinking of various instances, Kate and Jenny's respective deaths coming to mind. Gibbs simply glared at Tony, who ducked his head sheepishly.

"Shutting up now Boss, go ahead."

"Then what's so difficult to understand about me wanting you, one of the people I trust the most in my whole life, to look after my daughter if I can't do it anymore."

"Nothing boss," Tony backed down, smiling to himself.

Gibbs had nodded, "Good," before walking away, unable to stop a smile spreading across his face. Tony had looked so proud, so honoured in that moment when he had given in to Gibbs, the older man was convinced that he'd made the right choice.

Now though, it was just him, Willow, the basement, and, of course, the boat. Gibbs smiled, imagining evenings in the future that would pan out like this. As much as Gibbs like his personal space and solitude, sometimes it as nice to have company in the basement with him to work on the boat, and Tony didn't come over that often any more, and Gibbs suspected that Tony would come over less now that Willow was there, probably fearful of encroaching on Gibbs and Willow's family time.

He was going to have to talk to his senior field agent about it at some point, Gibbs was certain of it.

Gibbs looked up at the clock and was surprised to see how late it had gotten. It was definitely time to cook up some dinner. Clearing his throat, Gibbs put his sanding block down.

"I think that's enough for now, it time to get something to eat. What do you feel like?" he asked Willow, who put her sanding block down as well, shrugging.

"I don't know, whatever's easy and doesn't take long," Willow said, feeling her stomach rumble. She hadn't realised how hungry she was until Gibbs had mentioned food and she'd realised that it was getting late. They both headed back up the stairs to the basement door, and once they were both through Gibbs closed the door behind them with a thump, before he set about making up something for them to eat.

At least, Gibbs reasoned, with Willow living with him there was no way he was going to get away with skipping meals at home, like he was prone to occasionally doing when a case was too much for him, and all he wanted was Bourbon, in the basement, with the boat. Nope, when Willow was there he was going to have to role model being responsible and looking after yourself, even though he wasn't used to it. At that moment Gibbs missed Shannon more than ever, and he wished that she was there guiding him through how to deal with Willow.

NCIS/BtVS

Willow stretched in her bed, surprisingly comfortable, considering it was the first night ever she'd spent in it. She looked towards her bedroom window, the sun shining thinly through the drawn curtain. She rolled over and looked at the alarm clock which sat on the bedside table. Eight o'clock, time to get up. Willow crawled out of bed and staggered sleepily out of the room, grabbing a clean change of clothes out of her bag and going into the bathroom to fulfil her bodily needs, and have a shower. Once she was clean, she got dressed, and headed downstairs.

Gibbs had already left for NCIS, but there was a note on the kitchen desk telling her he was going to invite his work friends around for dinner. There was a strict instruction for Willow not to worry about anything, Gibbs apparently had everything organised. Willow was inwardly grateful, since she didn't know where anything was stored at Gibbs' house, and she was terrified of stuffing up in front of her father's colleagues.

Even without her having to do anything special Willow was scared that she would do something stupid, or say something embarrassing, or something else equally mortifying. She knew that she'd already met Tony and Tim and Ziva and Ducky, but she was sure that there would be more. The Abby person she had heard her father talking about would be one that Willow expected to be there, since Abby sounded like she was very eager to meet her. Willow had to admit, she was curious about Abby as well. She remembered what Tim had said about not telling Abby about vampires, and how the others had all seemed to agree. She wondered why it was so important for Abby to stay oblivious to the supernatural. Maybe she was the type of person who didn't believe in anything until she'd seen proof. Willow didn't know, and she wasn't going to tell Abby just to find out.

Having eaten a quick breakfast of some fruit and a glass of orange Juice, Willow began to look around the house, starting with the living room, which didn't look very used in. There was a reasonably large TV set, and a DVD player, although with no DVD collection. There were books up on a bookshelf, and Willow found herself perusing the titles. She ran her fingers along the wooden shelves, willing to bet that Gibbs had created the bookshelf with his own two hands. She imagined that, compared to boats, building a bookshelf would be relatively easy.

Willow stopped when she reached a couple of framed photographs. One of them was of her father, Tony, Tim, Ziva, Ducky and a few others, obviously taken at Christmas time, since a few of the people in the photograph were wearing Santa hats. Another one featured just Gibbs, Tony, Tim and Ziva, and Willow guessed it had been taken at a crime scene. They were all wearing NCIS jackets and hats, and were clustered together, obviously deep in discussion, not realising that the photo had been taken.

Willow moved around the house, avoiding rooms with closed doors, respecting her father's privacy, and not wanting to upset him on her second day of living with him. She marvelled at how much of the furniture looked to have been crafted by Gibbs' own hand, how he had patiently sanded and scraped away at the wood in order to achieve the desired finished. When she touched the wood, she could almost feel the love and care Gibbs had used when he was making that particular piece of furniture.

Having finished her tour of the house, Willow headed downstairs, and picked p the phone, decideding that she should call up her friends in Sunnydale to reassure them that she had safely arrived in Washington. She had considered doing it the previous night after she'd eaten, but it had been a little late, and she didn't know if they were going to patrol, or if they were going to the Bronze, or something, so she had decided to hold of until the morning.

From memory, Willow dialled up Buffy's phone number, and sank down onto the comfortable couch in Gibbs' living room.

"Hi Buffy," Willow smiled down the phone when she heard her friend pick up.

"Willow, hi. How's Washington going, are you okay, are you settling in well? Is Gibbs being nice? He better be. It's so weird here in Sunnydale without you. You missed out on a great Bronzing session last night, and then Angel and I went patrolling, and it was so great. I think Xander's being all broody because you're gone though; Cordelia was going to try and cheer him up today. They were going out for lunch and a movie." Buffy spoke very quickly. Willow laughed.

"Buffy, I've been gone for barely 24 hours, and you're already going after my babble queen throne." Willow could almost see Buffy cringe down the phone.

"Sorry Will, I guess I'm missing you a bit too."

"I miss you too, Buffy, don't worry. So, which question did you want me to start with?"

"From the top, please maestro."

"Alright…Washington is going really good, it's so pretty up here, Buffy, even though I haven't seen that much of it, it was night time already when we landed, and I've just been getting used to the house, I haven't even started unpacking yet. Gibbs and I had a massive bonding thing last night. We didn't talk much, but it was nice to just spend time together after, you know, missing out on sixteen years of time we can spend together. He's building a boat out of wood in his basement, and he showed me how to work on it. We were down there for hours. My shoulder was all achy by the end."

"Wow, a boat…in the basement. How on earth is going to get it out.?"

"I don't know, but it's still cool, I think. It was fun to work on anyway."

"Whatever you say, Will." Buffy smiled down the phone.

"Anyway, the house is really nice. Its two stories and my bedroom is upstairs. I don't have a balcony anymore, but I do have a really nice view of the backyard. We're having dinner here so I can get to meet some of his work colleagues and I get to see Tony and Tim and Ziva again, assuming that they all don't get a case today, if they do, it will probably be just me and Gibbs. I hope Cordelia can cheer Xander up though."

"Ah, I'm sure he'll be fine. He's Xander, he's tough, he'll pull thorugh. You should ring him though, that ill definitely make him feel better, just don't say anything about himbeig upset.

"Okay then Buffy. I'll call Xander then. I'll talk to you soon. Stay safe."

"I will, you too Willow."

"Bye Buffy."

'Bye Willow,"

Willow hung up the phone, sighing thoughtfully and curling up into a small ball. She looked at the phone, before she began to dial the very familiar phone number of the Harris household. She had a best friend to cheer up.


	29. Chapter 28: 17th June, 2007

Gibbs strode out of the elevator and into the bullpen, coffee in hand. He noticed with pleasure that his team were all sitting at their desks already, even though it was still reasonably early.

"Morning, Boss." Tony smiled, having been the first to spot him from his vantage point.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs greeted as he walked behind his desk.

"Good morning, Gibbs. I trust your weekend was enjoyable," Ziva said as Gibbs sat down. Gibbs shrugged.

"Was fine," he replied. Ziva turned back to the paperwork she was filling out, her eyes filled with disappointment.

"How was Sunnydale?" McGee asked. Gibbs hid his smile at how each member of his team were fishing for information about Willow and his trip to Sunnydale to pick her up.

"Fine. Callen's team say hi by the way, Tony."

Tony nodded. Gibbs had introduced Tony and Callen to one another a few years ago and the pair had gotten along well.

Tim pouted at the failed attempt and began typing on his computer. Gibbs was willing to bet that McGee was telling Abby that none of the team had been able to glean any information about Sunnydale or Willow out of Gibbs. Gibbs knew it wouldn't be long before Abby would appear in the bullpen, demanding to know about the teenager she had affectionately dubbed "Gibblet."

Gibbs sighed and leaned back in his chair. He had not wanted to head into the Navy Yard that morning, wanting instead to stay home with Willow and ensure that she settled into his house all right. He wanted to be there for her and to protect her from harm, but Gibbs knew that there was no way he was going to be able to spend every waking second with Willow, shadowing her and protecting her. He'd alienate himself from her and make her resent him. She was sixteen after all, not six, and Gibbs knew that he could trust her to look after herself.

Besides, Willow had been fighting the supernatural for about eighteen months. If someone did try and hurt her Willow would probably able to fend them off for a little while at least. Gibbs, however, knew that Willow would need further ongoing training and planned on asking Ziva to help him train Willow in self-defence. Of course, Gibbs hoped that she would never have to actually use the skills she would learn, but it would offer some comfort for him knowing that she could get herself out of a situation.

Gibbs turned his computer on and waited for it to begin warming up. They didn't have a case at that moment, so it appeared that the day would be spent filling in paperwork, unless a new case was called in. Gibbs privately hoped that they wouldn't get called, so he would be able to get home at a decent hour of the day and the team would be able to come round for dinner and Abby and Palmer would get to meet Willow.

Speak of the devil. Gibbs smiled to himself as he heard the distinctive clumping of Abby's boots on the bullpen floor.

"Gibbs… How was your trip? Did you bring Willow back? Was she sad to leave all of her friends? When are you bringing her in to visit us? Was Sunnydale nice? McGee took lots of creepy tomb photos when he was down there. Is it really as hinky as Tony says it is? When can we meet Willow? I'm really looking forward to meeting her, she sounds like such a good kid. Please Gibbs, I won't even try to corrupt her and get her to like my music. Please?" Abby babbled quickly. It took Gibbs a few moments to slow down and translate Abby's questions. He noticed the way the rest of his team had gone quiet, as if they were listening intently for his response. He took a swig of coffee, draining his cup, before putting it into his bin, savoring the feeling of tension in the air.

"Gibbs," Abby whined, quieting down when Gibbs shot her a single look.

"Willow's currently at my house. I'll leave it up to her when she wants to come into the Navy Yard to visit you. Sunnydale isn't a nice place to visit, even for only a weekend, and she was sad to leave her friends, but she'll get over it, eventually. Depending on if we catch a case, you all can come over tonight and meet Willow, or see her again, and I doubt that you and Willow would have similar taste in music," Gibbs said, trying to make sure he answered all of Abby's question. Abby gave a squeal.

"Thank you, Gibbs. I'm going to go and make sure I'm up to date on everything so I can leave on time tonight." She hugged Gibbs once before she tore from the bullpen to the elevator, almost running over Vance in her haste.

Vance looked semi-shell-shocked as he looked over his shoulder at the whirlwind that was Abby before he entered the bull pen.

"What's up with Ms. Sciuto?"

"She just found out that she gets to meet Gibblet, I mean Willow tonight, sir," Tony answered with a grin. Vance nodded.

'Ah, I see. How's she settling in, Gibbs?"

"Fine, so far anyway," Gibbs replied. The director of NCIS nodded.

"Good to hear. Send her my regards. I hope to meet her some time."

Gibbs nodded, watching as Vance headed up the stairs towards MTAC. He wasn't sure what the director's agenda was but Gibbs suspected that Vance was interested in getting Willow to be an NCIS agent after she finished high school and college. Going by Willow's grades and interest in computers alone, Vance would be interested in Willow becoming an agent, even without knowing of her prior knowledge and experience in combat situations. Gibbs could tell every other member of his team was having the same thought.

"I'm going to go see Ducky," Gibbs announced, getting to his feet and heading to the elevator. He thumbed the button for the morgue and waited for the doors to close before he tilted his head back against the metal wall of the elevator. He wondered what Willow was doing… if she was awake and if so, was she lonely in the house alone?

Gibbs felt like he was neglecting her, just like her adopted parents had for most of her life. Maybe she would have been better off in Sunnydale, where at least she had her friends who loved her and knew her and would look after her no matter what happened. Gibbs had only had Willow in Washington with him for less than 24 hours and he had already abandoned her.

Gibbs was drawn from his musing when the elevator doors dinged and opened, revealing the passageway that led to the morgue. Gibbs left the elevator and walked through the doors to Ducky's morgue, observing the elderly Medical Examiner and his assistant as they talked over a body, Ducky pointing something out to Palmer.

"Ah, Jethro, what brings you down here this fine morning?" Ducky asked. Palmer eyed Gibbs nervously.

Gibbs shrugged casually. "Wanted to invite you both over for dinner. Bring a plate of something and be at my house at 1900 hours."

"Thank you, Special Agent Gibbs, I'll be there." Palmer beamed, happy to be included as one of Gibbs' team.

"Thank you, Jethro. That will be lovely. I shall be there. I trust Willow settled in well last night?"

Gibbs shot a pointed look at Palmer, who nodded. "I'll just take these samples up to Abby for analysis," he said, picking up some vials and hurrying oft of the lab.

"Thank you, Mr. Palmer. Now, Jethro, what is troubling you?"

"Should I have brought her back? I mean, she had friends there that looked out for her. She's been living with me for less than a day and I've abandoned her already. I'm just as bad as her other parents."

Ducky sighed and sat down, directing Gibbs to sit down as well. "Jethro, you are Willow's father and while she may not be overly comfortable about it now, I am sure that given time she will form new friendships, both with people of her own age and with the members of your team. She is such a sweet and kind-natured girl I am sure she will fall in with friends that will look out for her just as much as her old friends did. Besides, she still has contact with her old friends. She is not completely isolated from them. As for her other set of parents, from what yourself and Anthony have told me, I cannot imagine you ever treating any child as callously as they treated the child that was entrusted to them. She is sixteen after all, Jethro. Let her have some space. Spend as much time with her as you can outside of work hours and let her have working hours to herself. Besides, when the school year starts up again, she will be spending most of the day at school with others."

"I guess so," agreed Gibbs. "I just don't want to hurt her like they did."

"Hmm, trust me, Jethro. As long as you are looking out for her, young Willow will never get hurt like that again, I am sure of it."

"Thanks, Ducky." Gibbs ruefully smiled. Ducky patted Gibbs on the back.

"Don't mention it, my friend. I am here for you whenever you need to talk to someone. I may not have any experience of parenting but I've had a great many people come through those doors in need of guidance and I have done my best to help them all."

Gibbs simply nodded and got up, leaving Ducky in the morgue. The Medical Examiner sighed and turned to face the sole other occupant in the room, the body of a marine who had been discovered hanging from the ceiling of his apartment, the victim of suicide.

"If only I could have had the chance to help you before you needed to come and visit my chambers," he said to the dead man before he picked up the scalpel and continued the autopsy.

NCIS/BtVS

Gibbs frowned when he walked into the bullpen to discover Fornell leaning up against his desk. Tony was looking semi-nervous as he glanced between the two men and McGee was concentrating on his computer screen. Ziva was filling in some paperwork, shooting glances in the direction of the FBI agent.

"What can I do for you today, Fornell?" Gibbs asked, walking around his friend so he could get behind his desk. Fornell turned so he could face Gibbs.

"I heard it through the grapevine that you went and picked your daughter up over the weekend."

"You heard right, Tobias," Gibbs replied.

"What's she like?"

"Quiet, shy, clever, and likes computers," Gibbs summarized, not willing to go into much detail with the FBI agent. It wasn't as if he didn't trust the agent, he and Fornell were friends going back years after all, but there was a part of Gibbs that wanted to keep the young girl to himself and to his extended family, his team, at first at least. Fornell was down the list of people Gibbs wanted her to meet, after his father and his team, but much, much before Trent Kort.

Gibbs had decided that he would rather if Willow and Kort never met at all, although he doubted that the other agent would stay away. His nose was just too big for his own good.

"Likes computers? You sure that's the right one?" Fornell smiled, stopping instantly when he saw the look on Gibbs' face. Fornell passed Gibbs a coffee.

"Here, I took the liberty of picking one up for you."

Behind Fornell's back, Tony coughed to cover up his laughter. Fornell knew how to deal with Gibbs, that was for sure. Just make sure you have Gibbs' coffee of choice in hand and you were much less likely to get obliterated. Your odds still weren't good, but they were better than if you were facing Gibbs with nothing.

"Maybe one day when I'm in the neighbourhood, I'll come by. I'll make sure you're home first."

Gibbs nodded and Fornell smiled before he turned to leave.

"I've gotta go. I've got a case at the moment."

"Bye, Tobias." Gibbs waved his hand dismissively and Fornell hurried from the bullpen, disappearing into the elevator. Relieved that the confrontation was over, Tony, Ziva and Tim busily got back into the work, each trying to get up to date as quickly as possible so they could head home before they met up with Willow Rosenberg once again.


	30. Chapter 29: 17th June, 2007

Willow spent the day unpacking her suitcase, arranging and rearranging her things until she felt they were in the right place and planning where she would put the things of hers that Joyce was going to send to her. Although the room was a little smaller than her room back in Sunnydale, it was very comfortable and was easily large enough. Willow put her framed photograph of the entire Scooby Gang on her bedside table, so that Buffy, Xander, Giles, Angel, Oz and Cordelia would watch over her while she slept. Also on her bedside table went a photo of her, Xander and Buffy, and another of herself and Xander, which Jesse had taken years ago at his birthday party. Willow loved that photo. She and Xander looked so young and innocent in that photo. Before their lives were touched by evil… before vampires become a nightly occurrence and when the worst things in their lives were parents, Cordelia Chase and, for Xander, math tests.

She wondered if Gibbs thought about his own childhood before he joined the Marines very often. Before he, like she, Xander, and the others, had been shown the darker side of the world, where the situation was either kill or be killed.

After she had finished unpacking, which had taken most of the day, Willow found herself wandering about the house, looking at the photos that decorated some of the shelves, at the personal touches Gibbs had added to the environment. The house felt like him and Willow was very comfortable there. It was so different from the Rosenberg's house and yet Willow found herself feeling very comfortable, as if she belonged there.

She supposed that it was true. This was supposed to be the home that she came home to after being born. This was where she was supposed to take her first steps. This was supposed to be the house that she drew alongside her family at preschool. This was supposed to be the house she stood outside proudly on her first day of school. This was supposed to be the house where she would learn to ride her bike in the driveway. This was supposed to be the house that she had so many memories of, and yet she'd only just come here, almost sixteen and a half years later than she should have. She'd been robbed of all those moments and yet the strange house still felt more like home than the Rosenberg's house ever had.

Not for the first time, Willow wondered what her life would have been like if she hadn't been taken from Gibbs. Even if her mother and sister had still died, she imagined Gibbs would have still cared about her deeply and been there for her, no matter what. He wouldn't have treated her upbringing as the ultimate lab experiment. Willow didn't even know Gibbs that well and she knew in her gut that he would have loved her from the moment they met, just like he had even though she had been raised by someone else. .

Willow was dragged from her thoughts when she saw a car drive into the driveway. She cautiously approached the window, pulling the curtain back and smiling when she saw Gibbs emerge from the vehicle. She smiled and waved at him before stepping back, chastising herself for acting like a little kid that needed to be babysat. She hadn't acted like that with the Rosenbergs since she was small.

Gibbs entered the house, having grabbed the groceries he'd picked up from the supermarket on the way back home from back seat and shut the door carefully behind him, still smiling at Willow's eager waving from the window, even though it had slightly worried him.

"Willow, did you have a nice day?" Gibbs asked, pushing his concern down. He would deal with pleasantries first, then talk safety procedures.

"It was fine, spent most of it unpacking. How was your day? Did you have a case?'

Gibbs shook his head. "No. My team are coming over for dinner and Ducky, Palmer and Abby."

"Um, do you want me to make something?"

"No, it's okay. They're all bringing a plate of something, so all we need to do is nibbles. Ziva's brining her lasagna, I hope that sounds good."

Willow nodded. "Sounds fine. Do you need some help?"

Gibbs shrugged and led the way into the kitchen. He got out various serving bowls and things while Willow got things out of the shopping bags.

"Listen, I need you to do something for me. When you hear a car pull up outside, even if it sounds like mine, don't go to the window and pull the curtain aside to see who it is."

Willow stopped what she was doing. "How come?" she asked innocently.

Gibbs sighed. "If you're standing in the window, it's a lot easier for a sniper to get you than if you're away from it," he explained. Willow gulped.

"A sniper… is that likely?"

"I've made enemies and most of them wouldn't think anything of taking a shot at you to try and get to me. It's not general knowledge that you're living with me… or that you even exist and it's not general knowledge where I live, so you're pretty safe, but it's just a precaution. I don't want you to get hurt."

"So… kind of like not inviting anyone into the house?" Willow asked.

Gibbs nodded. "Exactly."

"I'll keep that in mind," Willow said nervously. She'd known from the moment she'd found out that Gibbs was her father, having already known that he was a federal agent, that her life had just become that little bit more dangerous, that she was just a little bit more of a target to non-demonic bad guys now than she had been previously. It was similar to being a target because of her status as the Slayer's friend back in Sunnydale. You just needed to be cautious. Better to be safe than to be dead, Willow surmised.

Still, it was a little unnerving to think about and subconsciously Willow stuck close to Gibbs for a little while. Sensing Willow's uncertainty, Gibbs didn't comment and after he quickly ducked upstairs to get changed, (hearing Willow do the same in her room) they headed down into the basement to work on the boat for a little while before their guests started to arrive.

They worked on the boat in silence until they heard a car pull up the driveway, behind Gibbs'. Gibbs smiled, recognizing the sound of Abby's hearse engine. He beckoned to Willow, who put down her piece of sandpaper and followed him up the stairs.

Willow went into the living room while Gibbs went outside to see if Abby needed any help bringing anything inside. Willow sat on the end of the couch, waiting until she heard the door open and close once more. Gibbs entered the living room, followed by a tall, dark-haired, pale-skinned woman. Willow schooled her expression, trying to mask her surprise. This was not what she expected.

"Hi, I'm Abby, I'm the forensic specialist at NCIS. I'm so excited to finally meet you, Willow. Tony, Ziva and McGee's told me so much about you. Tony says that you like computers and science and stuff like that. I do that too, like computers and science I mean, because that's what I do at work. Anyway, how are you finding Washington? Do you like it? Is it very different from Sunnydale?" Abby babbled.

"Abs," Gibbs quietly said and Abby shut her mouth.

"Sorry, I do that from time to time," Abby apologized. Willow, however, was smiling. A fellow babbler, maybe her first impression of Abby had been wrong.

"That's okay, so do I. It's nice to meet you Abby, I know that Gibbs likes you a lot, in, you know, a friend sense. Tony and Tim and Ziva all talked about you as well. I was really looking forward to meeting you, up until I met you, and now I'm really looking forward to knowing more about you." Willow cringed at the sentence structure. Giles was right, her and Xander's English was horrid.

"Yay, a fellow babbler." Abby grinned. "Do you ever find that when you get going, no one really understands you? Gibbs is getting pretty good, and Ducky's pretty good as well, and Tony's learning. McGee speaks tech-babble, so he goes alright. Ziva, I'm still training though."

"Back home, when I get going, Xander's the only one who can really understand me. The others all just used to look at me with this really confused look on their faces," Willow said and she and Abby both giggled. They were both babbling and Gibbs watched one and then the other, a smile spreading across his face. Willow and Abby were getting along better than he could have ever hoped.

Gibbs turned around when he heard the door open, and smiled when Tony and Ziva arrived. Tony had obviously picked Ziva up on his way to Gibbs' house. She was carrying a casserole dish covered in foil, her hands protected from the obvious heat by some tea towels.

"Ziva, Tony," Gibbs greeted.

"Hey, Boss."

"Hello, Gibbs, I will go and put this in the fridge until we are ready to begin heating it up," Ziva said. Gibbs nodded and Ziva walked off. Tony was carrying drinks, so he put them in the fridge as well before they returned to the living room, where Willow and Abby were still talking to one another… something about computers, Gibbs thought, although he had lost track of the conversation long ago.

"So, it looks like they're getting along well," Tony commented and Ziva chuckled.

"Ya think, DiNozzo." Gibbs smirked.

NCIS/BtVS

Willow glanced around the room, eyeing the group around her with a mixture of anxiousness, acceptance and curiosity. After Tony and Ziva had arrived, she and Abby had stopped talking about science and Tony had talked to her about Xander and her other friends. Then Tim had arrived, carrying a dish of various vegetables, which he put in the oven to cook. Not long afterwards, another young man had arrived. Gibbs had introduced her to Jimmy Palmer, Ducky's assistant. Palmer had brought some sticks of French bread with him, which he shyly handed to Gibbs. Willow smiled at him reassuringly, seeing how nervous he was. Abby had told her it was the first time Palmer had been invited back to Gibbs' house. The last to arrive had been Ducky, who had brought dessert.

Willow looked from one to the other and was amazed at how relaxed she felt. She had been nervous earlier, but now she was very relaxed. She could see how much all of Gibbs' team cared for one another, for Gibbs. They were loyal to one another, just like he Scoobies back home. Gibbs was Buffy, the leader, Tony was Xander, the loyal follower, and in some respects second string. Ducky was Giles, the kind-hearted and intelligent mentor and guide, while McGee was Oz, the background player who worked well with computers and had moments of brilliance. Ziva too was like Buffy. Palmer was like Willow herself, the quiet assistant to the mentor. Willow didn't know where Abby fit in, but she had a feeling that Abby was a very unique individual and that there was no one quite like Abby out there.

Willow helped set the table as the others prepared the food they had brought and everything was laid out on the table.

Willow sat down beside Gibbs and Abby sat on her other side. On the other side of the table was Jimmy, Tim, and Tony, while Ducky and Ziva were on the ends of the wooden table. It was a tad squishy, but Willow felt oddly relaxed. She laughed when Ducky told stories about his youth in Scotland to them all and paid rapt attention to the tales, ignoring how Gibbs rolled his eyes at her and the other members of the team as they listened intently to the Scot's story.

Gibbs shook his head, the way his team in its entirety were acting, like a bunch of small children listening to their much-loved grandfather as he told them stories about "Back when I was your age." Of course, if Ducky was his team's grandfather, it made Gibbs their father. Gibbs smiled as Willow giggled into her lasagna at a particularly funny bit of the story. He didn't mind the role, particularly with those members of his team that had no other family, namely Tony, and naturally Willow. It was almost one of his rules. If Gibbs accepts you as a member of his team, you become a member of the family. You hurt a member of Gibbs' team; the whole family will be after you.

Gibbs knew that Abby thought along the same lines and Ducky probably did as well, agreeing with him that the team was a form of family. Abby had even referred to Gibbs' team as her second family a few times, usually when it was just she and Gibbs though.

Gibbs wondered if, one day, Willow would make a similar comment.


	31. Chapter 30: 30th June, 2007

Willow swung her legs as she sat in Abby's lab, watching from a respectful distance as the Goth scientist worked on Team Gibbs' latest case. Gibbs had invited Willow into NCIS for the day, knowing that he would be there late working on the case, and he didn't like leaving Willow alone in the house for long periods of time. Abby had volunteered to let Willow hang around in the lab when Gibbs and the others weren't in the bullpen, since Willow couldn't go with them and she had to stay with someone within the building.

Willow hadn't minded having to have a babysitter. Abby was nice and she understood the reasons behind the strict rules and being at NCIS was more interesting than staying at home by herself, the lab in particular. Willow wasn't allowed to handle evidence and Abby didn't like having people watch over her shoulder, which Willow could relate to, but Abby often showed Willow what she was doing and let Willow look at some of the results that Abby discovered through her various tests.

It wasn't her first day at NCIS. She'd been there a couple of days over the two weeks since she had arrived in D.C. and been introduced to the remaining members of Gibbs' team. Willow thought of going to NCIS was like doing an internship there, or maybe more of a Forensic Science summer school, complete with seeing friends.

Willow still missed Xander, Buffy and the rest of the Scoobies, but the pain of her separation of them had been lessened by the presence of Gibbs' team in her life. They weren't nearly as close to her as the Scoobies had been but she had begun to build up friendships with each of them and as she grew to know each of the team better through spending time with them, Willow had begun to care about them.

It was obvious to Willow that Gibbs viewed his team as his family, especially Tony and Abby. Willow guessed it was because they had served with Gibbs for the longest, but she wasn't certain about that. Regardless of it, Willow had unconsciously begun to view Tony and Abby as her older brother and sister, a connection that was only strengthened by Tony being related to Xander. (Although she knew from experience that being related to Xander was not generally a good recommendation as far as your character went. Tony and Jessica Harris weren't the nicest people after all.)

Despite having her misgivings about Abby early on, Willow and the Goth scientist got along very well. They talked about computers and science and school and various other topics. It was simply nice for Willow to be able to share her knowledge and enjoyment of science with someone who wasn't a teacher. She had nothing against the other Scoobies but none of them, not even Giles, Jenny or Oz, were very scientific.

Willow also enjoyed spending time with Ducky. The older man was full of stories and Willow often listened to them with morbid fascination, unable to tear her focus or attention away from the sound of Ducky's voice. He reminded her of Giles, a fact which had been the basis of her fondness for him, but in the past few weeks Willow had begun to care for Ducky in his own right.

Willow's other new acquaintance, Ducky's assistant Jimmy Palmer, was also friendly. He'd been very nervous around her early on and Willow quickly figured out it was the result of his fear of Gibbs. Willow wasn't surprised, Gibbs did have a rather gruff exterior and he didn't project a very welcoming aura when he prowled the walkways of the Navy Yard. The other man was funny though and he sometimes shared a joke with Abby and Willow whenever he had to come and drop samples off in the lab from the morgue, or just a quick talk. Whenever he stayed in the lab for awhile, Abby would get a knowing look on her face.

"Gibbs is in there, isn't he?" she asked on one such occasion. Palmer cleared his throat and polished his glasses (reminding Willow of what a younger Giles would have been like when he wasn't in his Ripper stage) before glancing in Willow's directions.

"Well, yes," he admitted. Abby simply smiled and turned back to her computer.

On this occasion, though, Palmer hadn't spent much time hanging around at all. Willow sighed comfortably as she watched Abby bustle around the lab, keeping out of the way. She glanced over towards the doorway, having increased the amount of time she spent subconsciously scanning the environment for hazards to compensate for the fact that she couldn't hear much over the top of Abby's music. She smiled when she spotted Gibbs.

"Hi, Gibbs." Abby smiled. "You're right on time, as always."

Gibbs smiled and walked into the lab, carrying a CafPow! in one hand and a bottle of water for Willow and a coffee for himself in the other.

Willow showed some results to Gibbs before handing over the post-it note she'd been writing on before Gibbs had walked in. Gibbs pecked Abby on the cheek, handing her the well-deserved beverage, before he crossed over to Willow.

"Abbs tells me you've been helping," he said with a grin.

"Mostly by staying out of the way." Willow shrugged. Gibbs shook his head and kissed her on the forehead, passing her the bottle of water. Willow had been banned from caffeinated products, although Abby wanted to give Willow some Caf-pow! at one point to see what it would do to the younger girl. Willow wasn't looking forward to it, having seen what excessive drinking of the highly caffeinated drink did to the bubbly Goth who was very used to it.

Abby slurped at her drink and stretched her arms up over her head. "Mmmm, I'm glad that we solved that case," she said to Willow.

"How come?" Willow asked, drinking some of her water.

"Tomorrow night, I'm meeting up with two of my friends and we're going on a tour of one of the cemeteries and see what it's like at nighttime."

Willow's eyes almost bugged out of her head. "Are you serious?"

"Oh yeah, we've done heaps of them before, but we've all been busy, so this one just kept getting put off, and now we finally get to do it. Don't tell me you've never done it. McGee showed me the pictures of the cemeteries in Sunnydale, they look so great and creepy."

"Um, yeah, we did a couple, like, um, as a dare. They were really freaky though."

"You should come. It's always good to see who the first one to freak out is. Full moons are the best times to go and do it, but tomorrow isn't a full moon, which will be good, because it will make it nice and dark."

Willow nodded, feeling her stomach churning uncomfortably. The very thought of doing what Abby was talking about without having a Slayer with you just sounded terrifying, even away from Sunnydale. Obviously Abby had experience but Willow still wriggled uncomfortably.

"Isn't that kind of dangerous?" Willow asked. "I mean, who knows what… or who is hiding out there, and cemeteries are all filled with trees and gravestones that are perfect for hiding behind."

Abby shrugged. "That's part of the thrill," she explained.

Willow nodded. "I guess you're right, I think I'll give it a miss though. Gibbs probably wouldn't let me go and I know that Jackson's coming up this weekend, so I want to make sure the house is kind of tidy."

Abby smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I don't think Gibbs would be overly thrilled with the idea of me doing it either, come to think of it," she admitted. They fell into a comfortable silence as Abby turned to her computers and began typing up her reports. Willow was quiet, her mind filled with thoughts.

The suspect that Gibbs and the team brought in quickly confessed to murdering the Petty Officer whose death the team were investigating, although the evidence against him was pretty damning, so it wasn't long before Gibbs headed down to Abby's lab to collect Willow before heading for home.

Willow was quiet the whole car trip, barely noticing when Gibbs pulled the car into the driveway and cut the engine.

"Willow, you okay, what's wrong?"

"What, oh, nothing, just something Abby said today, that's all," Willow evaded, knowing that Abby wouldn't want her to say anything.

Gibbs nodded, respecting Willow's privacy enough to not push the issue, and led the way up to the house, Willow close behind, and let them both inside before closing the door securely behind them. The door was now locked during the night, a measure of protection for Willow's benefit and for Gibbs' peace of mind. Gibbs knew that if someone got in he was well and truly capable of looking after himself, but Willow was a different story and Gibbs didn't trust himself to be able to get to Willow quickly enough to protect her if there was an intruder. All of the members of the team had a key to Gibbs' back door though, just in case they did have need of getting in.

Willow carried her bag up to her room and put it down on the floor before flopping down on her bed, eying her closet wearily. Along with her other belongings, Giles had organized for a small arsenal of slaying equipment and research novels to be sent to Willow by Joyce. Gibbs didn't know about it though and Willow didn't plan on telling him unless she had a need to use it.

She had so far not broken her promise to not patrol but through her almost daily emails with various Scoobies she had been keeping up with things. Willow pulled her laptop up onto the bed and booted it up, checking for any new emails from the Scoobies.

There was only one and Willow frowned when she saw the subject line, which read "IMPORTANT, VAMP ACTIVITY TO INCREASE".

Willow clicked on the email and waited for it to load before she was able to begin reading it.

' _Dear Willow,'_ it read. _'We hope everything's going good for you in D.C. We all miss you heaps and we're glad to hear that you are getting along well with your dad and his team. Buffy's been busy with her slaying, and her mom's been wanting to do a lot of bonding stuff, Oz is in L.A. with his band, and then they're heading on an around California tour. Giles is the same as ever, always researching something or other and reading prophecies, except when Jenny's around, you don't want to know what they're up to then. Cordy and I have been just hanging out, occasionally helping out with the slaying, although it's pretty quiet at the moment, and going to the movies and things like that. Angel's been his usual broody self but he does ask after you every now and again, which Buffy thinks is nice of him. I think it's creepy._

_Anyway, the real reason that I'm emailing today is that Giles has found reference to some vampire festival that's supposed to happen all over the world tomorrow night, kind of like that feast thingy that was near parent-teacher night almost a year ago. Instead of the vampires being stronger though, they're just going to be hungrier. It's not going to be contained to just the Hellmouths either, but apparently it happens everywhere across the globe. Giles says that they're relatively common, once every seven years or so, but it varies depending on the phases of the moon. Angel's already increased how much he drinks though, and Cordy and I both think that it's going to be a good night to not go anywhere._

_Because this is so widespread and there are at least some vampires in D.C (Giles says that there is no city that big guaranteed to be vamp free) we all think that tomorrow night you should stay inside and get as many people as you can to say at home, because it might get messy out there. Giles says that he knows that you're going to want to go out and protect the people, but there's no point you getting hurt or possibly killed. I think he's scared that if you get killed by a vampire, Gibbs is going to blame him, and come back to Sunnydale seeking revenge. After all, Gibbs would probably be able to make it to the Mexican border before Giles' body was discovered and identified._

_I've gotta go now, Willow, but you be careful out there, okay. Stay with Gibbs and Tony, they'll look out for you. We're going to be pretty busy, so I won't be able to email tomorrow, but I'll call you on Saturday when it's all over._

_Missing you heaps._

_Love, Xander'_

Willow closed her lap top down in silence, before she groaned and buried her head in her hands.

Tomorrow was not shaping up to be a good day… and it hadn't even started yet.


	32. Chapter 31: 1st July, 2007

Willow stayed at Gibbs' house the next day, thinking about what her next move was going to be. Abby was going to be in danger tonight and Willow felt that she was responsible for looking out for Gibbs and the rest of the team against the supernatural. She knew that if something happened to Abby, and she was killed… or worse, turned… Willow would carry the guilt within her forever. If Abby was turned, well, they would all be in danger and Willow knew that she would have to be the one that would stake the fledgling vampire. At that moment, Willow had wondered how on earth Xander had managed to plunge his stake into Jesse, his best friend from boyhood. She was struggling with the idea of having to stake someone she'd barely known for a few weeks, Xander and Jesse had been friends for years.

Knowing what she needed to do, Willow made her way down into the basement of Gibbs' house slowly, knowing that what she was planning to do could very well lead to her death. In her hand she carried her wood working tools. She picked up the pieces of scrap-off cuts that she found lying around the basement and began working, leaning against the solid construction of part of the boat as she began to slowly shape and whittle the wood away until each piece was sharply pointy at one end. They weren't the most conventional-shaped stakes but they would do the job.

Willow glanced at her watch, surprised that it was already afternoon. She got up, brushing herself free of wood dust before heading upstairs, carrying her new stakes. She put them down on her bed before heading back downstairs and making up some lunch. As she sat and ate, Willow ran her fingers through her hair, knowing that she couldn't tell Gibbs what she was planning on doing. She was going to have to sneak out. She'd only snuck out once or twice before, once when she'd been younger and she'd wanted to go and watch the Charlie Brown Christmas special with Xander and the other had been more recently when she'd snuck out to help Buffy research and then slay something. Willow had a suspicion that sneaking out of Gibbs' house was going to be much more difficult than sneaking out of the Rosenbergs' house.

She quickly finished her lunch before heading back up to her room, slowly opening up her bedroom window. She peered out, studying the way down. There wasn't a conveniently placed trellis, like at home, nor was there a tree to climb down, like there was in the movies. There weren't any vines growing up the side of the house that would support Willow's weight and there wasn't a downpipe that Willow could somehow shimmy down, unless she ventured across the roof of the lower story for a bit, and Willow didn't trust her balancing ability that much and she knew that she was going to make a lot of noise if she even tried that. Anxiously, Willow glanced around, hoping that Gibbs didn't have any nosy neighbors; she slowly climbed out the window, crossing the roof to the edge quickly before crouching low. She couldn't believe her luck when she saw the smooth wooden support that lined up right outside her bedroom window. She was pretty sure she could slide down easily enough. She might get a couple of splinters but other than that, she would be alright. Willow hurried back to the house and climbed back through the window, closing it once again behind her. Having solved that potential problem, Willow next opened up her laptop, opening up a local map on her internet browser. She typed in her own address and the address of the cemetery that Abby was planning on going to, (having asked her in a email earlier that day under the pretext of looking it up and seeing if there were any Sunnydale-worthy tombstones there) hoping that they would be reasonably close. She didn't want to get ambushed en route and not make it. She let out a sigh of relief when it wasn't too bad. She would make it if she walked. She'd just have to leave reasonably early. At least, Willow figured, it was still summertime, so the days were longer and she'd have more time to prepare and get herself in position before nightfall.

Willow turned her laptop off before she crossed her bedroom and opened up her closet, dropping to her knees in front of her box of slaying equipment. She opened up the box, pulling out the bag she always used to take with her when they went out, knowing that it would hold everything she needed. Willow carried the bag back to her bed and carefully slid the stakes into it before she went back to the box, pulling out a couple of knives, some bottles of holy water, a water pistol, two crosses, a lighter and a crossbow with some spare bolts as well as the couple of extra stakes she'd put in. She loaded up her bag, going over everything a few times to check that she had everything. She pulled out her phone, studying it quietly. She knew that if Gibbs found that she'd snuck out, he would contact Tim and get him to trace her phone, leading them right to her, which could be bad. On the other hand, if she was injured, then having the phone as an added layer of security would be beneficial. She put her phone into the bag, turned it on, keypad locked but on silent. She didn't want to tip any vampires off by having her phone randomly start ringing, not that they wouldn't already know she was there. She popped her wallet and keys on top of her phone before zipping up her bag and leaving it beside her bedroom window.

Her bag packed, Willow set about preparing herself. She stretched her limbs, trying to imitate the exercises Buffy, Giles and Angel had taught her and Xander in order to prevent them from being so vulnerable. Willow smiled as she imagined the looks of her friends' faces if they knew what she was about to attempt.

Of course, Willow reasoned as she stretched her legs out, it might be a total bust and she'd be stuck all night following Abby and her friends around like some kind of weird stalker without seeing any vampire activity at all, but Willow's gut was telling her that she needed to be there tonight and after meeting Gibbs and hearing the stories about him that the others had told her, she was convinced that even if her gut instinct was only half as good as Gibbs', she'd better pay damn good attention to it.

Satisfied that she'd stretched up properly, she jogged downstairs and back up before heading back down again. Then, realizing that she was burning off precious energy she would need later, she settled down a read a book. After she had finished it (it wasn't an overly long book), Willow made herself a light dinner, knowing that Gibbs didn't expect to get home until later and had told her that he would organize his own dinner. Then she did the dishes.

Not long after that, Gibbs walked through the door. Willow smiled when she saw him and asked him about his day. They hadn't had any cases but the day had been taken up by a lengthy meeting with Vance and lots of paperwork. Willow cringed, knowing that Gibbs was a man of action and not a sitting-at-a-desk-doing-paperwork kind of guy. She could tell that he was tired, so she excused herself and headed upstairs. As she walked through her bedroom door, she heard footsteps on the stairs going down to the basement and was glad that she'd cleaned up the small mess she'd made down there. She repeated her stretches, adding a few exercises in order to warm her body up, before she quickly changed into her slaying gear. It had been a present from Giles, dark camouflage hooded jackets with dark green pants and a black t-shirt. The outfit was dark to help the wearer blend into the night but at the same time comfortable. Buffy had rarely worn hers but Xander had on numerous occasions. Willow studied herself in her mirror before she tied her long hair back, braiding it to keep it out of the way.

Willow glanced towards her bedroom door, chewing her lip nervously, before she grabbed a notepad from her desk and wrote out a note to Gibbs, just in case he decided to check up on her and found her missing. Willow was relieved that he knew about the supernatural but had a feeling that he wasn't going to be impressed with what she was about to do just because of the supernatural.

The note written, Willow stretched one final time before she crossed the room to her window, opening it up before she scooped down and picked up her bag. She looked over her shoulder at the room she was leaving before she sighed and clambered out. She half-slid, half-slipped down the pole and tiptoed around the side of the house, avoiding the little window for the basement. Finally she was at the front of the house and as casually as she could manage, Willow set off down the street, determination written across her face as she strode into the twilight.

NCIS/BtVS

It was late that night when Gibbs stretched his back and drained his glass of bourbon, ready to call it a night. He headed upstairs, glancing at his watch, and figured that Willow would still be up. He double-checked that the front and back doors were locked before he climbed the stairs up to the second level of his house. He paused at Willow's door before he softly tapped on it.

"Willow, you up still?" he asked softly. There was no response, so Gibbs assumed that she was already asleep. He shrugged and continued on down the hall but he'd only taken two steps when his gut clenched. Something was wrong and Gibbs was certain that Willow was involved. He backtracked to Willow's bedroom door and slowly and carefully turned the handle, poking his head into the darkened room. His eyes fell on the empty bed and Gibbs felt his heart jump up into his throat. He stepped fully into the room, switching the light switch on. Willow wasn't in there.

The investigator within Gibbs looked towards the window and he groaned when he saw the curtains fluttering in the breeze that wafted through the open window. It was such a classic, cliché escape route for generations of teenagers sneaking out. Tony would have laughed at the thought of Willow using it and it had obviously worked. Gibbs hadn't suspected a thing all evening. Who knew when Willow had left… how long she'd been out there, where she'd gone, who she was with, when she was coming back… if she could come back.

That thought had Gibbs driving his hand into his pocket to retrieve his phone. He dialed McGee's number from memory.

"McGee," he snapped into the phone, scouring the room for evidence.

"Boss, what's up…We got a case?"

"Willow's missing; I don't know where she is. Track her phone."

"Boss… Wouldn't that be an invasion of her privacy? Maybe she just met up with some friends?" McGee timidly suggested. Gibbs rolled his eyes.

"McGee, she's been in town for all of three or four weeks and she doesn't know anyone other than us. Who would she be meeting?"

"Gotcha, boss. Do you think she's gone… you know… slaying?"

Gibbs froze. He'd completely forgotten about that possibility. Willow had agreed to not patrol on a regular basis, although she had stipulated that she reserved the right to go out if there was a specific danger that she knew was in the area and that the Scoobies all agreed she could handle, but only if she let Gibbs know first and accepted taking Gibbs and Ziva along as backup since they were the most experienced hand-to-hand fighters of the team.

Willow, however, hadn't said anything about it though and Gibbs trusted Ziva to not go behind is back as far as Willow was concerned.

"Doubt it, but it's a possibility," Gibbs acknowledged.

"Alright, Gibbs, I'm pulling up Willow's GPS…Damn,"

"What?"

"She's got a scrambler on her phone."

"McGee," Gibbs snapped as he continued his search of the room.

"She's got a program on her phone that makes it harder to track, she's bouncing her signal off different towers and it will take me longer to get a fix. It's a pretty advanced one."

"Hurry up, McGee," Gibbs barked before he froze. The innocent looking piece of paper lying on Willow's bedroom floor having caught his eye. It was positioned exactly as if it had been blown off Willow's bed by the breeze coming through the window. Gibbs crouched and picked it up, using a sleeve to stop getting fingerprints on it, just in case Willow had been abducted, although there wasn't any sign of a struggle. He unfolded the note and held the paper close to his eyes.

' _Dear Dad'_ it read,

' _If you're reading this, I guess you've figured out that I'm not at home at the moment. Trust me when I say that, assuming everything goes well, you'll be thankful. If not, well, I'm really sorry. I just wanted to let you know that in the few short weeks that we've known each other, you've been more like a dad for me than Ira ever was and that I really appreciate everything you and the rest of the team has ever done for me. I'm sorry if I fail my mission, I know your team will never be the same again._

_I'm going out hunting. Someone I know you all care about is in danger and I'm going to try and protect them. Tonight's a big night for vampires and they're all really hungry. If I don't make it, make sure you keep my body chained up, just in case I've been turned, and call Giles. He'll know what to do, there's probably a Watcher in the city that will be able to take care of it because I don't want to have to put you guys through… that. I saw how upset Xander got after he had to stake Jesse and I never want to put anyone in that situation._

_As you're reading this you've probably getting Tim to trace my phone. It's still on (or at least, it should be). Sorry about the scrambler but I want to give myself the best possibility to do what I need to do._

_Your daughter,_

_Willow.'_

Gibbs felt his knees give out beneath him as he read the note, and he dropped heavily to the floor. Willow was risking everything to save a member of the team. That was Gibbs' responsibility, not Willow's. She was just a kid, she wasn't even seventeen yet, and she was in serious danger. She could be killed. Hell, she could have already have been killed.

"Boss," McGee shouted through the phone triumphantly, "I've got the address."

Gibbs surged to his feet, adrenaline coursing through his veins as he thundered back down the stairs, carrying the note in one hand and the phone in the other as McGee rattled off the address. Gibbs knew the spot; it was a cemetery, pretty old, but with a couple of more recent burials as well.

And then a cold feeling seeped into Gibbs' heart. There was only one member of his team that was likely to be at a cemetery at night time (other than Willow).

Abby…

**A.N. Here we are with chapter 31. I hope you've enjoyed it. Next chapter will be an action chapter (or, well, an attempt at an action chapter. Action isn't really a strength of mine when it comes to writing, and I'm already thinking that the reviews will be not as glowing as they have been (the bit I've written so far has come across as kind of OOC, but it should turn out ok)**

**And so, in the words of Cary Elwes' Robin Hood "Prepare for the fight scene!"**


	33. Chapter 32:1st July, 2007

Willow shifted uncomfortably, wincing as a stick dug into her side. She glanced at her watch, sighing under her breath when she realized that it was likely that Abby and her friends would continue to wander for at least another few hours. The sun had set long ago but it wasn't overly late yet.

She flexed her fingers, careful to pay particular attention to her right pointer finger, the one that had been resting on the trigger of the crossbow that she had pointed out of the bushes she was hiding in toward where Abby and her friends were idly talking and looking around. Willow had been constantly on the move all evening, following the group around and making sure she stayed close enough to jump in and defend them, if needed.

At various points Willow had found herself wondering why on earth she was doing this. She'd barely staked any vampires back in Sunnydale and on all of those occasions she'd had, Buffy helping her. How on earth was she expecting to be able to hold off potentially several hungry assailants in the form of vampires?

Whenever Willow had those thoughts, however, she forced herself to muster her courage, push her personal doubts aside and realize that if she didn't look out for Abby and the others, who would. There wasn't a Slayer to do the slaying for her or a Watcher or a souled vampire, it was just Willow and no one else.

Brushing aside the loneliness that had welled up within her as she thought about how she was alone as a Slayerette, as Cordy had dubbed the Scoobies, Willow focused on what was happening around her. She needed to have her wits about her, after all.

As Abby and her friends moved off, Willow grabbed her bag, slinging it over her shoulder. She carried the crossbow in front of her, the bolt's head pointing down safely, and her hands tensed, ready to raise and fire the weapon. She thought about what it would be like for Gibbs and the rest of the team every time they went into a dangerous situation. Abby and Tim had told her some interesting stories about shootouts and even Tony had boasted about some of the situations the team had been in and escaped. The idea made her feel slightly braver about the whole situation and she continued on through the undergrowth, shadowing Abby and her friends.

Willow concentrated on Abby as she followed the, sticking to the shadows. She kind of thought that Abby at least would have realized that she was being followed, considering the fact that she worked for a federal crime-fighting organization, which appeared to be a high-risk occupation. Willow was by no means stealthy and yet the Goth seemed to be blissfully unaware.

Willow let out a yelp as she tripped over a tree log, stumbling and falling noisily to her knees on top of some fallen leaves and twigs. The group that she had been following all whipped around at the noise and Willow froze, glad that she was hidden from sight behind a low bush. She concentrated on her breathing, making it as quiet as possible as she knelt on the ground. Willow was sure that she was uninjured but the noise had definitely given her away.

She watched as Abby and her friends looked around, searching for whatever had made the noise. Abby looked the least worried of the group.

"It was probably just a cat." She shrugged. The others didn't look overly convinced, especially when another stick cracked from the opposite side of the clearing they were standing in. Willow closed her eyes for a moment. Either Gibbs and the calvary had arrived or they had company of the supernatural variety.

Willow's fears were confirmed when four tall men entered the clearing from the opposite side to her. She instantly shifted to behind a tombstone, which offered better cover. The men were all vampires, given away by their pale complexions, game faces and bloodstained mouths.

"Hey guys, great costumes, you really freaked us all out," Abby said, her tone friendly. The first vampire smirked.

"I'm sure."

It was too much for Abby's companions, who turned tail and bolted form the area. Willow knew they were heading in the general direction of their cars, so she hoped they were safe. She knew in her gut that Abby was the one who needed the protection she offered. A couple of the vampires looked hungrily after Abby's friends but the leader shook his head.

"No, boys. Share this one with me… She smells good enough to eat."

Abby, perhaps realizing that she was in trouble began to back away, reaching for her handbag. Willow guessed she had capsicum spray or something in there. Still, Abby badly needed help. Willow crawled from her hiding spot and took aim with her crossbow. She fired it before diving behind another tombstone to reload. Willow froze stumbling and falling noisly to her knees. The group that she had been fol

She heard the vampire's shouts of surprise and caught a glimpse of one of them disintegrating into dust. Willow smiled before she reloaded her weapon, firing on one of the three vampires. The shot went wide, embedding itself into a tree. Willow frowned as she went back for cover, knowing that the vampires knew where she was now. She dropped the crossbow, grabbing two stakes from her bag instead before she jumped up, hurdled over the tombstone and faced the vampires, slipping in between them and Abby.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? You're no Slayer."

"I'm not," Willow conceded. "But I'm the next best thing, I'm a Scooby."

The vampire's confusion showed clearly on his face as Willow lunged forward, ramming a stake into the heart of another of the lead vampire's cronies. He exploded into dust, taking the stake with him. Willow switched her remaining stake into her right hand.

"Abby, run!" Willow yelled as the other crony grabbed her by the arm tightly. The heavy, clumping footsteps that Willow heard reassured her that Abby had listened. She yelled as she was flung by the crony through the air, yelping when she collided with a headstone. She shook her head to clear it, wincing as her vision temporarily grayed alarmingly before clearing, just in time to see the vampire grab her by the front of her shirt and throw her again. This time Willow was able to roll with the impact. She staggered back to her feet, reaching for the cross she had tucked into her pocket. The vampire came at her again and she shoved the wooden artifact right into the vampire's gaping mouth. The vampire gagged against the wood, spitting it out immediately, its bloodied face burning from the contact with the holy relic. Willow took the opportunity to regather herself, pulling another stake from where she'd tucked it in her belt and shoving it into the vampire's heart. The vampire looked at the stake, confused, before it looked at Willow and simply exploded. Willow let out a shaky breath before she felt a heavy fist collide with the side of her head. She dropped to the ground, dazed by the punch thrown by the lead vampire.

Willow tried shaking her head to clear it but her ears were still ringing from the blow and her vision darkened again. She barely felt herself get grabbed and thrown through the air like a rag doll into another headstone. Willow squeezed her eyes shut against the pain, trying to will herself to stay conscious. She could hear someone calling her name and for a moment she thought of Xander and the rest of the Scoobies, and of her father and her new family at NCIS.

They would be so upset if she died. The thought forced Willow to snap her eyes open and she kicked out, sending the vampire toppling down beside her. He recovered quickly, however, and rolled over on top of Willow. Willow panicked and began to struggle as she felt the vampire's cold hands wrap around her throat tightly.

"You know, I was going to turn you but after that little kick, I'm going to enjoy watching you die nice and slow, bitch."

Willow brought her hands up and began to claw at her attacker's hands, trying to get free. She'd dropped her stakes when she'd been punched and she couldn't find them in the darkness. She gasped for oxygen as the vampire's grip tightened around her airway, constricting it. Willow's vision began to darken once again and she began to let her eyes slide shut as her struggles lost strength.

She heard someone scream her name and Willow thought of what Xander would be saying if he were here.

"Don't you dare let that bloodsucker take you down, Willow. I don't wanna be the last musketeer."

"You're not gonna be, Xander," Willow found herself gasping before she did the only thing she could imagine Buffy doing in this situation. She brought her knee up hard, right into the vampire's groin. The vampire let out a squeal of pain and hastily let go, rolling off. Willow rolled over as well, so she was on top of the vampire and smiled when she spotted one of her stakes lying within reach. She grabbed it, holding it above the vampire's heart.

"It's Miss Bitch to you, Fang Face," she said before ramming the stake home. The vampire collapsed into dust and Willow fell onto her stomach with a groan, her ribs voicing their displeasure. Willow had a feeling that she might have broken, or at least bruised, one or two during her first impact with a gravestone. She crawled painfully up onto her hands and knees before she started to cough, rubbing at her sore throat with her hands. She looked around the clearing. She knew she needed to move but her entire body was screaming in pain.

She let out a few more harsh coughs before her breathing seemed to stabilize a little. Willow took the opportunity to stagger to her feet, moving to the edge of the clearing before picking up her bag and staggering wearily towards the cemetery's exit. She'd barely made it two steps when someone wrapped their arms around her. Willow looked around, surprised to see Gibbs' face not to far from her own.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I found your letter," Gibbs said before he began to examine her. Willow winced when he touched a tender spot on her forehead, his fingers coming away bloody.

"Ow," she whimpered. Gibbs shook his head.

"You're worse than DiNozzo, honestly. You're going to hospital."

"Um, how are you going to explain this?" Willow said, dimly aware that Tim, Abby, Ziva and Tony were there as well, but unable to bring herself to care. She was having a rather hard time just staying upright and leaned against her father for support. Gibbs adjusted his grip on her so he was better able to hold her up.

"She's got a good point boss. Looks like she's had the… poop kicked out of her."

"You think, DiNozzo?"

"What about Ducky?" Ziva suggested.

Gibbs paused before nodding. Willow obviously needed medical assistance and even though Ducky was at that time not aware of Willow's past… extracurricular activities, Gibbs trusted him to keep the secret.

"Ziver, ring him, we'll meet him at NCIS," Gibbs ordered. "Tony, you drive my car and Abby, go with McGee. We'll pick the other cars up later."

The team nodded and headed for their respective cars, Gibbs half-carrying Willow, who was worryingly quiet.

"I saved Abby, Dad. They were going to kill her and I saved her," she said as they reached the car. Tony heard the comment and busied himself with opening the driver's side door. Gibbs nodded, having maneuvered Willow into the back seat, before climbing in beside her.

"You did, Willow. I'm very proud of you." Gibbs smiled, knowing that it was unlikely that Willow would remember much of what she said, since she was pretty out of it.

Tony started the car and carefully began to drive towards the Navy Yard, quickly being overtaken by Ziva. He had two reasons for going slow. One, out of consideration for Willow. The smoothest ride she had the better, second, well, it was Gibbs' car that he was driving. It deserved some gentle driving once in a while.

And, well, Tony knew that if anything happened to either Willow or the car, Gibbs would kill him.


	34. Chapter 33: 1st July, 2007

Ducky almost let his jaw drop when he saw Willow being almost carried into autopsy by Jethro, the rest of the team clustered around them. Thankfully, he had been still at work, finishing off reports and paperwork, when Ziva's call had come through and he'd been able to lay a sheet out on one of the autopsy tables. He didn't know many details, Ziva had been a little vague on the phone, but it sounded very much like Abby had been attacked by someone and Willow had jumped in and saved Abby, getting a solid beating for her efforts. Ziva had reported a probable head injury in addition to possible rib damage and other injuries.

Still, he hadn't been expecting Willow to look as… pleased as she did.

"Hi, Ducky," she said in greeting, wincing in pain as she climbed up onto the autopsy table Gibbs had half-carried half-led her to.

"Ziva tells me you've been playing the hero."

"Well, you could kind of say that."

"I do hope you hearing our stories of heroism haven't filled you with foolish notions," Ducky said sternly. Tony, McGee, and Abby all had the decency to look sheepish. Willow shook her head before groaning.

"No, ow. Is this what Giles feels like every time? Because if it is, I feel so sorry for him,"

"If you mean when he is concussed, then yes," Ducky replied, shining a light into Willow's eyes carefully. Willow shied away from the light.

"Where else does it hurt, Willow?" Ducky asked, sinking into doctor mode.

"Other than my head, um, throat, ribs… back, everywhere." Willow coughed. Ducky slipped on some gloves and gently tilted Willow's head back, studying the red marks already marking her skin where she'd been grabbed.

"I'd say someone tried to strangle you."

"Yes, that's right," Willow croaked. Ducky nodded and began to study the rest of her injuries. Ziva was sent to the locker room to grab Willow a change of clothes out of her locker and all of the boys except Ducky left the room when Ducky asked Willow to remove her t-shirt to allow him to check her ribs. Abby stayed and held Willow's hand, chattering away to her.

"I know something hinky happened tonight but since your throat's all sore from where that guy had you pinned, I'll just get Gibbs to tell me, because he knows, I know he does, so does Tony and Ziva and Tim, but I don't think Ducky does. Do you, Ducky?

"No, I do believe I am in the dark, much like you, Abby," Ducky said as he taped Willow's ribs. Two of her ribs were cracked and a few others were bruised, but he didn't believe that there were any that were broken completely. Willow was just going to have to be very careful with herself for the next few weeks.

Ziva re-entered the room and Willow gladly accepted the change of clothes, heading into Ducky's office to get changed. She caught a look at herself in the mirror and cringed. Ducky had stitched the gash on her head and put a bandage over it and her normally pale skin was almost white, except in the spots where she was already showing signs of bruising.

"Boy, now would be a great time to pick up Slayer healing," she said to herself as she changed into the pair of sweats and t-shirt. They were a little big on her but it wasn't too bad.

She stepped out into the morgue and noted that everyone was back in the room.

"Okay, what's going on? What happened tonight? What's the big secret?"

Willow felt Gibbs' eyes on her and she nodded slightly. After what had just happened, Abby deserved the truth. Knowing that Willow wouldn't be able to talk too much with her injured throat and concussion, Gibbs cleared his throat.

"Sunnydale, where Willow grew up and was living right up until she came to live here, is the home of the Hellmouth, a gateway to hell that leaks dark energy and acts as a magnet to all forms of supernatural being." Gibbs glanced at Willow, who looked very impressed and nodded.

"Hang on, supernatural being… Like vampires and werewolves and witches and ghosts and demons and stuff like that?"

"That's the one," Willow managed. "Those tonight, they were vampires, not overly old ones at that. I think the three cronies were fledglings."

"Oh." Abby sank onto another table. "And they were going to eat me and then eat you."

Willow simply nodded.

"Willow's friends formed a take-back-the-night style vigilante group after one of their friends was killed and turned by a vampire. They trained with the weapons that are useful against supernatural forces and researched prophecies and then went out patrolling and slaying," Tony added.

"The vampires, they mentioned a Slayer."

"One girl in the entire world, one girl a generation whose destiny it is to fight the forces of darkness and evil, the vampires and the demons," McGee recited.

"One of my best friends is the Slayer. It's her destiny to fight the bad guys. She's got super strength and super agility and super healing," Willow added.

"Bet you wish you had that now, huh?" Tony quipped. Willow nodded, then groaned. Ducky approached her with a needle.

"Here, it's a painkiller. It shouldn't make you drowsy but it looks like you already are. I think we should head down to the lab and Willow can rest on the couch down there. Concussion checks every two hours though, Jethro."

"Got it, Duck. Come on, Willow."

Willow followed the rest of the group down to the lab and collapsed onto the couch in Abby's office with a groan. She barely felt someone draping a blanket over her, she was already asleep.

Satisfied that Willow was okay for now, Gibbs headed out into the main lab, where Ducky and Abby were eagerly awaiting further information about the supernatural.

"I told Willow what I was going to do tonight… She tried to talk me out of it but I insisted."

"We think her plan was to follow you and your friends until she was needed. Apparently tonight's a big night on the vampire calendar when they're all very hungry."

Abby's eyes filled with tears. "She risked her life to protect me… I'm so sorry, Gibbs."

"It's okay, Abs. You're both in one piece, so it's okay," Gibbs reassured the younger woman, who went to him for a hug. Gibbs held her tight, reassuring himself that the Goth girl was fine. When he and the rest of this team had arrived at the cemetery, they had found Abby running through the gate, jabbering about Willow and pointing in the direction she'd just come from. Gibbs had set off without a second thought, too concerned about Willow to ensure that Abby was uninjured. The Goth, however, appeared to be just scared and shaken.

"How long has Willow been doing this kind of thing?" Ducky asked.

"Eighteen months, give or take," Tony replied.

"Although I get the impression that Willow has not spent much time fighting on her own previously or possibly had much success in slaying before now. She looked very pleased with herself, although she was injured," Ziva reasoned.

"Is Tony's cousin involved in this too?' Abby asked. Tony nodded.

"He started the same time as Willow. He was forced to stake his best friend, the one who was turned into a vampire."

"Oh my, that surely would have been difficult for the poor boy."

"I get the feeling it's not mentioned much," McGee commented and Tony nodded in agreement.

"How did you all find out?" Abby asked, looking at the other members of the team.

"The night that Willow's parents signed over custody to Gibbs… and her mom said… stuff about Willow, Willow overheard it and ran off into the night. We went out looking for her in Sunnydale. We heard a scream and headed for it. Willow had been cornered in a park by a demon. Two of her friends had already arrived on the scene and had killed the demon, saving Willow's life. The body was obviously not human, so they came clean."

"Aren't there others who can do this? I mean, Willow and Tony's cousin are high school kids, they're only sixteen."

"They're all about the same age," Gibbs explained. "Giles is Buffy's watcher but he's also the high school librarian and the mentor of the kids. Probably was the closest thing to a father any of them had at the time as well. Angel… He's a vampire with a soul. He fights alongside Buffy, the Slayer. He doesn't drink human blood and when he does it's from a bag. Oz was a year older than them but, other than that, they're all high school juniors."

"As if high school wasn't hard enough already just throw in vampires, demons and apocalypses every week." Tony commented. Abby and Ducky sat in silence for a few moments, processing what they'd just been told.

"And this slaying… It would lead to injuries?" Ducky asked.

Gibbs nodded. "Willow never really mentioned any serious injuries. She's been knocked out before, she told me that, and she's had a few minor cuts and bruises but nothing major. She's never been hospitalized because of it."

"Ah, well, I don't see why that trend should not continue. She has a mild concussion but as long as she is lucid during the concussion checks, I do believe she will be fine. She should take it easy for at least a week to help her ribs heal, preferably two. As little physical activity as possible. Her throat looks to be free of any serious damage, merely some bruising, to add to her growing collection. She'll be particularly sore for a few days but I imagine that she will manage. I'll prescribe some painkillers to help with the concussion and her ribs but I imagine that she will make a full recovery. She does, after all, have the advantage of youth on her side."

"I do not understand what Willow was hoping to achieve. She knew she had little chance of being able to protect Abby, the note she left for Gibbs and what she had already told us about vampires indicates that she believes them to be difficult for anyone without superhuman abilities to effectively slay," Ziva said.

"What would any of us have done? She is the most experienced out of any of us hunting, she doesn't have any acquaintances in the area that could possibly have helped, she knew Abby was in danger. It was all on her," Gibbs said softly. He could see Willow's reasoning in her thought progress but he still was in shock at how close he'd gotten to loosing Willow that night. He'd seen the way that she'd been pinned by the throat by that vampire, clutching at the pale creature's hand, trying to suck oxygen into her deprived lungs before she'd given up and kneed the vampire where it hurts in order to get free. It had been an effective move and Gibbs had been very proud of her resourcefulness against a far stronger opponent.

Of course, the moment Willow was sufficiently recovered from her injuries, Gibbs was going to get Ziva to train Willow in self-defense, even if it was just for his own peace of mind. Gibbs also planned on, in a few months, training Willow in how to handle a gun, just in case she ever needed to be able to defend herself from an armed assailant. He hoped she'd never be in that situation but that night had proved to Gibbs that he wasn't always going to be there for Willow, and sometimes she'd have to look after herself, whether she was ready for it or not, and Gibbs hoped that she'd be ready the next time.

The discussion simmered down a little after that and Gibbs took the chance to slip back into Abby's office and sit beside Willow's sleeping form, running his fingers softly through her long hair.

"You did good," he quietly told her. "I'm proud of you, Willow. You looked out for Abby, you had her six except you didn't have anyone watching yours. Next time… tell me when you're planning on going patrolling and I'll organize something. I know that you're the expert now, of us anyway, but you still need someone lending a hand. You're too much like me… going off on your own to save everyone else… or just someone else. Not a great habit to get into. God, now I get why Tony hates it when I do it. Mike Franks used to do the same thing. If you were my agent, I would have head smacked you by now, even with a concussion."

Gibbs smiled at Willow, watching her features, relaxed and peaceful in sleep, and made himself comfortable, planning on keeping up his bedside vigil until Willow needed to be woken up. She wasn't going to be alone for awhile… Gibbs was sure about that.


	35. Chapter 34: 2nd July, 2007

Willow slept in the next day, groaning as she woke up to find the sun filtering through her drawn curtain. She barely remembered stumbling up the stairs and to her room when Gibbs had taken her home at about three in the morning.

Willow moved and whimpered at the pain that flared up through her entire body. Her entire body hurt. She wondered if this was what being run over by a car felt like, because it definitely felt like there wasn't a part of her that wasn't covered in bruises or just ached. She turned her head, observing for a moment the chair that was beside her bed. Gibbs had obviously not left her side all night. She remembered how he'd kept waking her up to check her concussion. She'd passed the check each time, lucid enough to answer his questions, before she'd succumbed to her own exhaustion and gone back to sleep.

Willow noticed with a grimace that she was still wearing the clothes that she'd put on at NCIS. She'd been too tired and too much in pain when she'd gotten home to bother getting changed, so she'd simply collapsed onto her bed. She'd just had a concussion check, so Gibbs had obviously just let her crash. He'd taken off her shoes and tucked her in under the covers. Willow smiled to herself at the thought of the gruff retired marine tucking her in like a little girl. She couldn't remember the last time either of her adopted parents had tucked her in. It felt nice to know that someone had cared that much about her.

She was brought from her musing when she heard Gibbs enter the room, followed by Ducky.

"Ah, I see our young heroine has awoken." Ducky smiled. Willow cringed.

"To an extent."

"How do you feel, Willow? Don't lie, I'm here to help you."

"Everything hurts. If it's not bruised, it just aches," Willow admitted

"Getting thrown around a cemetery like a rag doll will do that to you," Gibbs commented form the doorway. Willow pouted as Ducky prepared a light to shine in her eyes. She winced as the light made her head throb even more and tried to move away, which just made everything else throb more. She groaned.

"I'm sorry, Willow. I know it hurts. Both of your pupils are reacting well, though. Much better than what they were last night. You'll be sore for a few more days, I would think, but after that there should be few signs of the concussion."

"Good." Willow smiled weakly. She moved to roll over, biting her lip to prevent a yelp erupting when her ribs shifted at the movement.

"Easy, Willow. I wouldn't recommend much moving around today. Just take it easy."

"Oh, but wasn't your dad coming today?" Willow said, panic beginning to build up in her chest. Gibbs shrugged.

"He's just going to be glad to be able to meet you… The fact that you're not up to doing much at the moment isn't going to bother him."

"I do believe that you would be able to venture down to the couch in the living room," Ducky said as he continued his examination of the cut on Willow's head. He'd determined the previous night that it hadn't required stitches but he wanted to be sure that there were no signs of infection.

Willow stayed still throughout Ducky's examination, letting the doctor check each of the places he'd notice injured the night before. Willow ruefully noticed that she had been right. Beneath her clothes, she was black and blue with bruises already. It was a good thing she still had a few weeks left of summer holidays in order to give her body time to heal, so it wouldn't look like she'd been beaten to a pulp on her first day.

Eventually, Ducky nodded and gave Willow some painkillers and a glass of water. She took the pills without a word and drank the entire glass of water.

"I must say, you are a much more compliant patient than your father or Tony," Ducky smiled. Willow shrugged, feeling her cheeks go red.

"You're just trying to do your job," she said.

"Yes, I do wish others felt the same way." Ducky gave Gibbs a pointed look. Gibbs returned the look with a smirk of his own.

"Can't have you getting bored, can we, Ducky?"

"I can assure you, Jethro, that I could never be bored while working with you at NCIS," Ducky replied. Willow watched the pair banter back and forward. It was oddly soothing to watch her father interact with another in such an informal way. She'd seen him interacting with the others out of work before (actually, she'd never seen them interacting at work before), but she couldn't help but feel that what she was witnessing was evidence of a friendship that had existed for longer than the one she shared with Xander. Obviously her little escapade the previous night had not shaken her father too much… or at least, she hoped it hadn't.

NCIS/BtVS

Willow was lying stretched out on the couch, a blanket draped over her, when Abby burst through the front door. Willow jumped, wincing at the pain that flared through her ribs at the movement.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Abby apologized. "Where's Gibbs?"

"Down in the basement, working on the boat, I think," Willow replied.

Abby nodded before she perched on the edge of the couch near Willow's feet.

"Um, listen ,Willow, about last night. I really appreciate you saving me last night. I've heard from my friends… they all got home safe. If you hadn't been there, I don't know what would have happened. Thank you. Thank you so much." Abby leaned forward and gently hugged Willow. Willow smiled.

"It's okay, just think of me as your friendly neighborhood Scooby," Willow replied. Abby laughed.

"So, you're friends with a souled vampire… what's he like?"

"Tall, dark, broody, kind of handsome, very attached to his girlfriend and not much of a talker," Willow replied. Abby smiled.

"Strong and silent type?"

"Oh yeah, Angel's very silent. Xander often comments that we should make him wear a cow bell to stop him from sneaking up on us."

Abby dissolved into laughter at that and Willow couldn't help but join in, only to stop quickly when her ribs throbbed.

"You two okay?" Gibbs asked from the doorway. Abby looked up at Gibbs, beaming.

"Hey, Gibbs, we're just talking about vampires, more specifically Willow's non-biting vampire friend in Sunnydale."

"He's got a girlfriend, Abbs," Gibbs said with a smirk as he headed back to the basement. Abby rolled her eyes.

"Do you reckon you could introduce us? I don't want to date him, I like warm people, but it would be very cool to have a vampire as a friend."

Willow shuddered. "As long as he had a soul or something like that, so he wouldn't eat me."

Abby rapidly nodded. "Yes , that would be a condition. No biting… Have you ever been bitten?"

Willow nodded. "Only the once and it was on my shoulder, not my neck. It wasn't for very long either. There's a tiny scar. I'd show you but moving kind of hurts at the moment."

"When you get better?" Abby asked hopefully. Willow shrugged.

"If you want."

"Excellent." Abby beamed.

The pair sat quietly for a little while until Tony arrived at the house, hoping to have the chance to meet up with Jackson Gibbs again. The older man had promised Tony that the next time he saw him, he would regale him with stories of young Gibbs and Tony was eager to hear Gibbs senior talk. Tony genuinely liked the guy and Jackson Gibbs was yet another reason that, deep down, he wished he was a Gibbs. Tony didn't remember having a grandfather but Jackson Gibbs seemed like the perfect one. Willow was lucky to have him and Tony was glad that now Jackson would have another chance at having a granddaughter to love and dote on after losing Kelly so tragically.

"Hey, Tony," Abby smiled.

"Hi Abs, hey Willow, how are you feeling after last night?"

"Pretty sore but other than that, okay," Willow said softly from where she lay on the couch. Tony nodded.

"That's good. Do you two know where Gibbs is?"

"He's in the basement with the boat," Willow replied. Tony nodded.

"Has Jackson got here yet?" he asked Abby. The goth shook her head.

"No, but then, it's still pretty early. He's got a fair way to come."

Tony nodded understandingly and left the two girls, heading to the basement. As he descended the stairs, he was surprised to see that Gibbs wasn't sanding the boat. Instead, he was standing there, holding a piece of wood in his hands, staring at it.

"You okay, Boss?" Tony asked. Gibbs looked p at him.

"DiNozzo, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted the chance to see Jackson again… He's a nice guy." Tony walked the rest of the way down the stairs, crossing the floor over to Gibbs. Gibbs looked back down at the wood.

"And you wanted to hear stories about me when I was a kid."

"Well, that too," Tony admitted, knowing that he wouldn't be able to convince Gibbs otherwise. The former Marine knew him too well.

The two men stood in silence, Gibbs studying the piece of wood and Tony studying Gibbs.

"What's bothering you, Boss?" Tony softly asked. Gibbs sighed.

"I almost lost her last night. I could have lost her after just a month. She must have been down here for hours yesterday making up stakes to use," Gibbs said and there was no way in hell that Tony was going to ever mention the fact that Gibbs' voice had hitched dangerously when he'd spoken.

"Boss," Tony began. "If Willow hadn't done what she did, Abby would probably be dead. She was the only one who could have saved her. If any of us had tried we would have been killed as well. Well… maybe not you or Ziva, but McGee or me anyway."

Gibbs ran his hand over his face. "I know, Tony. I know she's the most trained demon fighter we know, but…" Gibbs faded off.

"She's still your baby girl and she doesn't seem to be very dangerous," Tony finished for his Boss. Gibbs nodded.

"I've already asked Ziva to train Willow in self defence and if Willow agrees, I'm going to teach her how to shoot."

"Giles told me when we were in Sunnydale that Willow was a very skilled shooter with the crossbow, more accurate than Buffy, despite her lack of training and experience with the weapon. It looks like she inherited your targeting skills."

Gibbs felt pride well up within him at Tony's comment but he didn't let it show upon his face. In his head, Gibbs knew that Tony was right, that Willow had been the only one who had the faintest chance of being able to save Abby without getting herself killed in the process. Having seen the amount of strength the vampires had possessed when Willow had effectively been thrown around that clearing, Gibbs had no doubt that he wouldn't be able to take one out in hand-to-hand combat and he had his doubts about Ziva as well. They'd trained to fight against humans while Willow, from day one, had been trained to fight against vampires and demons and that was the biggest thing she had going for her.

On the other hand, in his heart, Gibbs had been scared about his daughter's safety. From the moment he'd found that note, Gibbs hadn't known what they were going to find. Willow, her body torn to pieces, possibly with Abby's at her side, their blood drained. Maybe they would be turned and Gibbs would have to face the prospect of slaying the demon possessing his daughter's body, staring into Willow's eyes when he pointed a crossbow at her unbeating heart and fired it.

Even if Willow had survived the attack, Gibbs had been worried that she would be badly injured and require hospitalization. It wouldn't look good to anyone from child protection for, mere weeks after moving into Gibbs' home, Willow to show up in hospital with serious injuries consistent with a severe beating. Gibbs, as a Marine, could have potentially caused those injuries in the eyes of a judge and jury.

"What are they doing up there?" Gibbs asked, changing the topic slightly. Tony shrugged.

"Just watching TV, and talking a bit. I think Abby wanted to get to see Jackson."

"Like you, DiNozzo?"

"What, he's a nice guy?" Tony defended. Gibbs chuckled, realizing that he should put aside what happened to Willow. It was in the past. Willow had taken care of the assailants and there hadn't been any witnesses. Her injuries were not serious and would heal and Willow was obviously in enough pain to have decided that she was not going out to do something like that again any time soon.

Much to Gibbs' relief. He didn't want any more gray hairs after all.


	36. Chapter 35: 2nd July, 2007

**A.N. This chapter is from the point of view of Jackson Gibbs, and therefore, Gibbs is referred to as Leroy (just wanted to clarify to ease confusion.)**

Jackson Gibbs could feel his excitement building in his gut with every minute that past, every mile marker he passed as he drove from Stillwater towards Leroy's house in D.C.

Jackson resisted the urge to pinch himself. When Leroy had told him the news… that he had a living grandchild who had been stolen from Jethro before Shannon and Kelly were even cold in their graves, Jackson had felt his heart swell with emotion. He'd seen how the long months and years that had followed Shannon and Kelly's death had destroyed his son and to know that their had been a little baby… another little girl that could have helped Leroy through it, had it not been for some prejudiced doctor's interference, broke the older man's heart.

Jackson still missed Shannon and Kelly every day. He had a photo of them and Leroy together on a family holiday in his bedroom, so that he could see them when he was lying in his bed. The very idea of having a second granddaughter to love and cherish and dote on thrilled him. He knew that Leroy had come to view his team at NCIS as his family… especially Tony and Abby as well, and Jackson saw Tony as a grandson, even though the younger man wasn't aware of it, but even Tony and Abby and the rest of Leroy's team couldn't fill the hole that Jackson knew existed in Leroy's fortified heart. His long lost daughter, however, might help ease the pain of Shannon and Kelly's passing. It wouldn't completely erase it… nothing would… but it might help.

Jackson found himself wondering what his young granddaughter, Willow, looked like. He knew she was sixteen years old and he knew that she strongly resembled Shannon… even more strongly than Kelly had, according to Leroy. When he'd heard his son speak of Willow, he could hear the pride and affection in his voice. Leroy was obviously thrilled to be a father once again and Jackson couldn't have been happier for his son.

Sure, the circumstances weren't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but at least Leroy now had a chance with his daughter. A chance to love her and raise her, just like he had with Kelly, and now Jackson had the same chance to meet and get to know his granddaughter.

The elder Gibbs slowly navigated the quiet streets of D.C., with the traffic being very sluggish. It was, Jackson reasoned, a Saturday morning after all. Most people were probably only just getting up and enjoying a late breakfast. He found himself wondering what time Leroy had awakened, ready for the day. Probably before the sun had risen from beyond the horizon, if he knew what his son was like. Was Willow a morning person or was she a night owl? Jackson found himself wondering as he finally pulled his car into Leroy's driveway, smiling to himself as he spotted the Mustang and the hearse parked alongside Leroy's Charger. He was sure the hearse belonged to Abby and he was pretty sure that the Mustang was Tony's. McGee or Ziva had not struck Jackson as the type to drive a Mustang like that.

Stretching his back as he got out of the car, Jackson surveyed the house. It had been years since he'd visited Leroy at home. In fact… it had been over sixteen. Jackson felt his heart clench in his chest as he remembered how Kelly had bounded over to greet him, Shannon following behind. The last time Jackson had seen her Shannon had just a hint of a baby bump and Kelly had excitedly told him all about the baby in her mommy's tummy and how she was going to be the coolest big sister ever.

He was drawn from his musing when he heard the front door open and Leroy himself emerged. Jackson smiled, seeing the slight difference in the way his son carried himself.

"Hey there, Leroy, how's it going?"

Leroy smiled and shrugged. "Fine," he said but it was the twinkle in his eye that told Jackson Gibbs how much of a difference Willow had made in her father's life already. The light in Leroy's eyes that had been extinguished, seemingly forever when Kelly and Shannon had died, had reignited and was burning brightly, for all to see.

"Let me help you with your bags," Leroy offered and Jackson shrugged, handing Leroy one of his suitcases.

"So, how are you getting used to having a teenager in the house?"

"By the time I get used to it, she'll be in her twenties," Leroy replied with a chuckle and Jackson let out a laugh.

"I had the same thought when you were about the same age."

Leroy stopped at that, his eyes closed as if he was willing some form of pain away. Jackson frowned. He hadn't said anything that should cause Leroy any pain… he was very careful about mentioning either of the girls when he was around Leroy.

"Dad… Before you see Willow… I've got to tell you some things… and you can't tell anyone. Willow and I agreed it would sound best coming from me."

Jackson frowned. "What's wrong, Leroy. Is everything okay?"

Gibbs glanced around before thumbing the remote button for the roller door to the garage, which he'd had in his pocket. The roller door opened and both men walked in before Leroy flicked on the lights and closed the roller door. The garage had lots of boxes in it, elements of Leroy's past life.

"Son… what's wrong?"

"I couldn't say it out there," Leroy explained. "What I'm about to tell you is going to sound like a myth… but it's all true… I've seen it."

"Leroy… whatever it is, I believe you."

Leroy nodded and then sat down on a pile of boxes, gesturing that Jackson should join him. Jackson sat down opposite his son, putting the bag he was carrying down on the floor.

"When Willow was… taken, she was adopted by a couple called the Rosenbergs. Sheila's a well-known child psychologist and they thought adopting a child would add to her credibility. Willow grew up as a guinea pig. She was neglected and abandoned by the people she was supposed to be protected by. The place where they lived, Sunnydale, California, is the most dangerous place I have ever seen. The early settlers called it the Mouth of Hell and that's what it was. A pathway from this dimension to hell, right underneath the high school, emitting all kinds of dark energy, attracting demons and vampires and other things that aren't supposed to exist."

"Whoa, are you telling me that vampires and demons are real and that Hell actually exists?" Jackson asked. Leroy nodded and Jackson, remembering his promise, kept his mouth shut.

"Willow, her best friend who turned out to be Tony's cousin and a few other kids she went to school with, found out about it all after Willow's other best friend was murdered. Tony's cousin had to kill the demon that was wearing his best friend's body. They formed a vigilante group against the supernatural."

"Shows she's a Gibbs," Jackson said proudly. Leroy shook his head.

"What those kids were facing, one of them would be able to take both Ziva and I down at the same time, easily. They're stronger and faster than anyone I've had to fight and Willow and these other kids were fighting them on a nightly basis. One of the kids had super powers and one of the bad guys had changed sides years ago, so Willow was, to use her phrase, just a sidekick, but still."

Jackson was speechless, but Leroy had more to say.

"Most places in the world are nowhere near as dangerous as Sunnydale but Willow knows how to keep herself safe. She knew she was vulnerable, so she was laying low but last night was some big event, when all the vampires get very hungry for blood. Abby had told Willow that she was heading to a cemetery last night with some friends to go for a walk… or something, and Willow realized the danger. Despite being warned of the dangers by her friends back in Sunnydale, Willow went and saved Abby's life, almost getting herself killed in the progress."

Jackson's jaw was at his feet. "Is… is she all right?"

"Ducky says she'll be sore for a few days, but after that she'll make a full recovery. A couple of bumps and bruises, and a couple of bruised bones. She's in a fair bit of pain through and she's covered in bruises."

"Ah, hence the warning." Jackson nodded in understanding. While it saddened him that his granddaughter had faced so much already in her short life and was in a lot of physical pain at that time, it didn't take much of the shine off the fact that he was finally getting to meet the granddaughter he'd thought he'd lost sixteen years ago.

"Right, you ready?" Leroy asked. Jackson got to his feet, nodding. Leroy opened up the internal access door to the garage and the two men entered the main house. Jackson could hear soft talking and the sound of a TV set coming from the living room. He could pick out Tony's voice in the discussion and Abby's and another soft, feminine voice that Jackson guessed belonged to Willow. Leroy put the suitcase he was carrying down at the bottom of the stairs and Jackson lowered the one he was carrying as well, following his son into the living room.

Tony was sitting in a chair, looking relaxed and comfortable, as he watched the TV but Jackson paid little attention to the Italian NCIS agent, his eyes instead drawn to the couch where, laying on some cushions, a small red head was positioned, cuddled up beside Abby. Jackson felt his heart leap into his throat. Leroy had been right… Willow was the spitting image of her mother. It was if it was a sixteen-year-old Shannon sitting on the couch. Jackson wondered how difficult it was for Leroy to have Willow baring such a strong resemblance to her lost mother, like a constant reminder in the house of what he had lost, but a single look at his son's face answered the question. The obvious affection… the devotion that Leroy had for Willow was evident upon his face. Leroy was just thankful to have a second chance at fatherhood. Jackson nodded, approvingly, stepping up next to Leroy so he was closer to Willow.

"Willow, this is my dad, Jackson. Dad, this is Willow, my daughter."

Willow studied Jackson closely. She could easily see her father in the man in front of her, although Jackson's face was much kinder looking than Gibbs' ever had been.

"Hi." She smiled shyly.

"It's lovely to meet you, Willow." Jackson smiled, hiding the pain that clenched in his heart as he saw Willow's obvious insecurities. He remembered what Leroy had said about Willow's adoptive mother and about how Willow had been neglected her whole life. Naturally, Willow would be insecure about relationships with her biological family after such an upbringing.

"It's nice to meet you too, um… Mr. Gibbs."

Jackson smiled. "Jackson is fine, Willow."

Willow ducked her head, hiding behind her curtain of red hair, her cheeks the same shade as her hair.

"Leroy mentioned that you and Tony's cousin are best friends," Jackson said as a conversation starter, shooting an appealing glance at Abby and Tony for a little backup. Jackson wasn't even going to try and entice his son's help. Leroy was not a conversationalist.

"I know. It's, like, a massive coincidence," Abby chimed in. Tony nodded.

"I know that we're not supposed to believe in coincidences, but yeah, when Gibbs said that he wanted us to look up a Willow Rosenberg from Sunnydale, California, I was, like, what? I went and visited Auntie Jessica and Uncle Anthony years ago and I took Xander and Willow to the park for the afternoon. I didn't even know Gibbs back then."

"That reminds me, Tony. Timmy showed Palmer and me that photo of you three on the playground. It is so cute. Xander looks a lot like I imagine young you, you know, like a sixteen-year-old you."

"Ah, you AND palmer? Really?" Tony whined. "Great, now I'm never going to show my face in Autopsy again. McGeek is so getting in trouble for this."

"Remind me stock up on that stuff that'll get McGee unstuck from his keyboard," Gibbs muttered to Abby and Willow quietly. Abby nodded while Willow looked confused.

"Huh?"

"Tony likes to pull pranks on the rest of the team, especially McGee. His favorite prank is gluing McGee's fingers to his computer keyboard."

Willow put her hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles.

"Tony, never give Xander that idea or any ideas of pranks," Willow said, thinking of how Buffy might react to getting stuck to a computer keyboard. Xander would be bruised for days from the arm slap he'd get.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Willow," Tony reassured her with a wink. Abby snorted.

"Why, are you scared that Xander will become better at it than you?"

"Ha, no one could be better at pranking than me. I am the master," Tony scoffed.

"Beer, dad?" Gibbs asked with a smirk, satisfied that Tony and Abby would be able to keep conversation going.

"It's a little early for me, but why not?" Jackson shrugged.

"Tony? Abby? More than two and you aren't driving home," Gibbs reminded them.

"That's alright, Boss, Abbs can have a couple and I'll drive her home," Tony said. Abby nodded, so Gibbs went and got the bottles from the fridge, as well as Willow's next batch of medication, which she was due for. He passed beers out to Jackson and Abby, a soda for Tony, and the bottle of pills and a glass of water for Willow. Willow took the medicine wordlessly.

"Thanks." She smiled up at him.

"So, Willow, tell me, what are your favorite subjects at school?" Jackson asked.

"Computers, science and math," Willow promptly answered. "Even though I don't mind reading books, so I guess you could say English class too. I'm not very good at drawing and I suck at P.E. and don't ask me to do anything remotely musical or perform anything, because I get stage fright really badly. I can't think of anything scarier than being up on stage in front of lots of people, except perhaps frogs, and, well, a few other things as well that are really scary, so I don't like doing drama class. I get the best grades in computers and science subjects though, so I guess you could say that they're my favorite subject, which is good because most of my friends aren't very good at science or math, so I help them out as much as I can with their homework and assignments and studying for their exams. I like being able to design things on the computer, like programs that can help us solve problems or can do things for us faster that we could ever hope to do them. Abby's been letting me hang out in the lab with her since I came to D.C., and it's been really interesting. She's been showing me how she does all these cool things with her machines and computers and different programs, as well as all the things she does with chemicals to find forensic evidence. I've been learning heaps, it's like my own private summer internship."

"Willow, take a breath," Tony instructed. Willow complied.

"Damn, you're supposed to stop me when I babble like that," she said to Gibbs crossly. Jackson, however, and begun to laugh.

"Well, she's certainly more of a talker than you, Leroy," he told his son. Tony snorted and Abby laughed.

Gibbs just shook his head and looked at Willow fondly, pride and devotion filling his gaze. Willow smiled up at him. Gibbs felt his heart clench and, for one of the first times since Shannon and Kelly's death, he felt like he was with his family.


	37. Chapter 36: 2nd and 4th July, 2007

Willow eyed the phone sitting inconspicuously in its cradle as if it were about to jump up and eat her. Actually, knowing the place she was about to call, that seemed a distinct possibility.

Willow tossed up mentally which option she would rather have happen, being eaten by the phone or making the phone call she knew that she needed to make. Being eaten kept coming out on top.

Willow shook her head, chastising herself for her cowardice. She dialed the familiar number quickly before her resolve failed.

"Rupert Giles speaking."

"Hi, Giles," Willow said, her voice pitching upwards until she was almost squeaking. She imagined the Englishman jerking the phone away from his hear to protect the delicate organ from the high-pitched noise.

"Willow, are you alright? You sound… somewhat nervous."

"Are Buffy and the others with you?"

"Yes, we are all together. We're just debriefing following last night."

"Ah, can you put your phone on speaker?"

"And how do I go about doing that exactly?"

"Ask Buffy, she'll show you." Willow rolled her eyes at the British librarian's lack of technological knowledge.

There were a few muffled noises on the other side the phone before Buffy's bright and cheerful voice came down the phone line.

"Hey there, Willow. You're on the air."

"Thanks, Buffy. Hey, guys."

"Hi," various voices replied, including Xander's, Buffy's, and Cordelia's.

"Just a random, completely irrelevant highly hypothetical question for Giles."

"Go on," Giles said.

"Um, are vampires stronger in areas with an active Hellmouth compared with how strong they are in other parts of the world?" Willow asked quickly, fighting the urge to let her voice rise once again in pitch.

"Generally, yes. The further a vampire is from a Hellmouth, the less strength they possess, although they still are much stronger than humans," Giles replied. Willow nodded, even though she was alone.

"That makes a lot of sense, so a vampire here in D.C. isn't going to be as strong as a vampire in Sunnydale?'

"That's generally correct. Of course, the older a vampire is, the less difference it makes, but as the closest known Hellmouth to your current location is a minor one in Cleveland, you are quite safe."

"What's with all the questions, Will?" Xander asked. Willow cringed, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

"On Thursday, before I found out about the thing with the vampires, one of my dad's work colleagues, she told me that she was planning on going on a walk through a cemetery on Friday night after work with her friends as a dare. I tried to talk her out of it but she still went and did it. I know that you guys warned me about it but I know how much this girl means to my dad and the others, she's basically my big sister, so I got the weapons you sent me… thanks for that by the way, Giles and I went to the cemetery and I know that you told me to stay at home and I'm really sorry, but I followed them. They were attacked by vampires. I was able to get the girl… Abby, to run but then I had to try and stake the vampires and it was easier than I through it would be. I was actually able to stake all of them. Sure, there were only four of them and three of them were fledglings, but I've never staked a vampire before without Buffy's help."

"Whoa, slow down, Wills. You're breaking the sound barrier with the babble," Buffy interrupted.

"Did you say four vamps? Way to go, Wills!" Xander cheered.

"Are you alright?" Giles asked, concern evident in his voice.

"Um, yeah, I'm covered in bruises and my entire body aches. I got thrown around a little and I've got cracked ribs, but other than that, I'm okay," Willow admitted.

"Is Special Agent Gibbs aware of what you did?"

"Yeah, he found a note that I left him and got Tim to track my cell. They showed up just as I staked the last vampire, which was kind of handy, because I don't think I could have made it all the way back home safely."

"That's great that you were able to stake the vamps, Willow, but you've gotta be careful. You're kind of on your own out the in D.C.," Buffy cautioned.

"Buffy is right. Were you able to save you friend?"

"Yeah, Abby's great. She thinks I'm the coolest person around at the moment."

"Abby… isn't she the one that the others didn't want to find out about the vampires?" Xander asked.

"Yeah, well, she knows now. They were all fangy before I could get her out. And I'm pretty sure she saw me stake the first couple, so it's either vampires or I killed four guys and then somehow disintegrated their bodies, which would be really hard to explain scientifically, given there wasn't a big explosion of some kind."

"Did you try the whole trick-of-the-light story? I find that it works for me," Buffy helpfully suggested.

"Hah, I can't believe I fell for that," Cordelia groaned. Willow snorted before grimacing and rubbing at her aching ribs.

"I would have, had it not been for the fact I wasn't really thinking properly at the time. Let's just say I've experienced my first concussion and I don't understand what you see in them Giles."

Giles scoffed. "It's not like I intend to get knocked out," he defended. Willow smiled as she heard the others laugh in the background.

"Are you quite sure you're alright, no?" Giles asked, interrupting the other's mirth.

Willow nodded. "Yeah, I'm still sore, but Ducky, the medical examiner at NCIS, thinks I'll make a full recovery, give me a couple of weeks."

"Well, that is a relief. I understand that you wanted to protect your friend but it really was quite foolish of you to go out alone like that, Willow," Giles commented. Willow ducked her head apologetically, even through her former mentor couldn't see her.

"Willow, Giles is right. You could have been killed. You're on your own up there, it's not like you're helping me on patrol here in Sunnydale. You don't have me or Angel watching your back."

"I know, trust me, I don't plan on doing it again any time soon and Abby's promised my dad and I that she's not going anywhere near a cemetery at nighttime ever again unless I've told her that it's okay or she's in a group with lots of people, including Gibbs, Tony, Ziva, Tim and me."

"Well, that is good news. I'd rather hoped you would be safe up there."

Willow cringed. "Yeah, me too, but I think that my being up here sort of narrows the definition of safe to supernatural things only. My dad's warned me… he's got a lot of enemies and none of them would think twice about kidnapping me to get to my dad. I don't need to be scared but he's told me to be cautious when I'm out of the house."

"That's… scary," Buffy commented.

"It's not too bad, I just need to be aware of what's going around me… you know, knowing Rule 40."

"Rule 40?" Xander queried. Willow blinked, not even realizing that she'd quoted a rule. Gibbs really had begun to rub off on her, even if it was only after a few weeks.

"If you think that someone's out to get you, they are. The forties are only for emergencies."

"And how many of these rules are there?" Buffy asked.

"About fifty," Willow replied.

"And what are these rules… your father's?" Giles asked curiously

"Yep, most of them are work-related, but they can be adapted to suit day-to-day life. Tony told me about them earlier while he was telling me stories about some of their cases. He and Abby felt that since I'd told some stories about our, uh, cases, then it was only fair that they tell me about some of theirs, as much as they could without breaking the law anyway."

"Oh, do tell," Xander pleaded through the phone, eager to hear about the cases his cousin had worked on. Willow smiled and shifted to a more comfortable position.

"Well, this one time…" she began.

BtVS/NCIS

Willow sighed contentedly as she leaned back against a tree, stretching her legs out in front of her. Wriggled her toes, admiring the nail polish that decorated her nails. She glanced to her side at Abby, whose toes were painted back. Willow had gone for a more patriotic blue. It was Independence Day after all.

In celebration of the holiday Gibbs and the rest of the ream, including Jackson and Willow, had headed out to a park to see the fireworks. They'd gone there mid-afternoon in order to get a good spot up on the hill and Abby and Tony had spread out some picnic blankets. Ziva, Tim, Ducky, Palmer and Gibbs had brought food, and they had shared it all out for dinner. Now they were just waiting for the fireworks to begin.

Willow sighed and watched Tony and Ziva as they bickered. McGee and Palmer had both brought their iPods and books to block out the noise while Ducky was talking with Jackson and Gibbs about something or another. Jackson looked deeply interested but Gibbs looked bored.

Willow sighed once again and reflected on how pleasant that weekend it had been. She was feeling much better now than what she had on Saturday when Jackson had arrived and she'd called the Scoobies. She was still surprised that she hadn't gotten chewed out more than she had for going out alone to save Abby when she knew that it was overly dangerous. Of course, the next time she saw the Scoobies, she was sure that Giles would give her the disappointed look that she hated. It made her feel like she did the time that she was reprimanded by her parents when she was eleven and she got an B on her report card.

Maybe they might forget… hopefully.

Willow shifted and winced when her ribs throbbed, protesting the movement. Willow hoped that no one had noticed the facial expression but she only had to look at her father's face to know that he had seen it.

"You okay?' Gibbs asked softly. Willow nodded.

"Just a little sore, it's loads better than what it was though."

Gibbs nodded and moved closer to her. Willow fought the temptation to lean against him and snuggle close. Gibbs had barely let her out of his sight ever since he'd founder her in the cemetery. Willow had resented this overbearing behavior at first but as she'd gotten used to it, Willow had been reminded how safe and protected she felt when she was around him. She knew that he would always look after her, no matter what.

"You tell me if you start feeling sick or it gets too bad, okay?" he softly instructed her and Willow nodded, hoping that she wouldn't need to make that kind of decision. She'd been looking forward to going to the traditional Independence Day fireworks display all weekend.

Gibbs had been hesitant about going to the firework display, knowing that she was still recovering from her injuries and was still sore and easily tired, but Willow and Abby had talked him into it. Willow had reassured everyone that it was unlikely that anything supernatural would go anywhere near the display. Giles had reassured her that on a ordinary night, or at least ones not involving ancient vampiric festivals, the vampire population of Washington D.C. was quite small and that you could spend the whole night patrolling usual demon and vampire hot spots, such as nightclubs, demon bars, and cemeteries as well as public places, and not encounter a single vampire or demon, not that Willow was allowed to start engaging in such an activity, and Willow had passed the message of reassurance on to Gibbs and his team. Still, she couldn't help but notice that Abby, Tim, and Tony were all glancing around fearfully every now and again, scoping for hazard more than she thought they would normally. Ziva and Gibbs naturally spent a lot of time scoping the environment for hazards, so the action was natural for them.

Willow's concerns about the supernatural faded with the light as darkness fell in the park and the first fireworks lit up the sky. Willow smiled in amazement, never having seen something so beautiful. Sunnydale did put on a little fireworks show but she'd never spent a holiday such as Independence Day in a city as large as D.C or L.A. before. Willow gave into her desire and leaned against Gibbs' chest, smiling happily as he wrapped his arm around her protectively. She snuggled against his chest, letting the feeling of safeness being this close to him provided wash over her as she gazed up at the sky in wonder as the fireworks lit up the summer night's sky.

"Happy Independence Day, Willow," Gibbs muttered in her ear.

"Happy Independence Day, Dad," Willow replied.

NCIS/BtVS

Jackson Gibbs smiled happily to himself as he sat in the front seat of Leroy's car, watching his son drive homeward after their night out at the fireworks to celebrate Independence Day. He glanced over his shoulder at the back seat, where Willow was sleeping, having fallen asleep less than five minutes into the journey home despite of Leroy's driving.

Jackson smiled as he thought of the last few days that he'd spent with his granddaughter. Despite what she'd been through, both on the night before his arrival and the events prior in her hometown, he'd been pleasantly surprised by how well balanced she was, how polite and considerate she was. There was no mistaking that the mind within her head was a replica of Shannon's. Jackson had never known someone to be as kind and thoughtful as his first daughter-in-law but now, considering what she'd overcome to even live to now, Jackson was inclined to believe that Willow had claimed her mother's crown.

At the same time, there was so much of Leroy in her. Jackson could see it, although he doubted anyone else could. It was in the way she did some things, the way she seemed to look straight into your eyes and was able to read your soul. That was pure Leroy.

Jackson found himself watching his sleeping granddaughter. She looked so innocent in the back seat, so young and naïve. It was a harsh truth that she, like her friends and her father before them, had been forced to grow up much too quickly. When she was conscious, the strain of battle experience showed on her face (if you knew to look for it) but when she was asleep, the strain fell away and Willow became an ordinary sixteen-year-old girl.

Jackson was drawn form his musing when Gibbs drove the car into the driveway of his home and cut the engine. Jackson shook his head slightly. Given the holiday, the roads had been busy, considering it was nearing midnight, and the trip had taken longer than usual but he had completely lot track of the time, too busy taking in the youth on Willow's face.

"You okay, dad?" Gibbs asked. Jackson nodded.

"Just having a moment, Leroy. I didn't realize how young she really is until I saw her after she'd fallen asleep."

"Yeah, I know, I've had the same thought myself," Leroy admitted, getting out of the car and walking back to Willow's door. Willow had begun to stir, so Gibbs helped her from the car, guiding her towards the house, Jackson leading the way, opening the door for them since Willow looked too worn out to be able to hold herself up at that point in time.

Leroy immediately took Willow upstairs, Jackson presumed to tuck her into bed. She'd already had her night-time medication with supper, so she was all organized. Anticipating that Leroy would be gone for a few minutes, Jackson busied himself with making up some coffee for himself and Leroy.

Five minutes later, Leroy came down the stairs.

"She out?" Jackson asked, handing Leroy his coffee. Leroy chuckled.

"Yep, out like a light."

"Ha, I remembering you doing the exact same thing after we used to go to the Stillwater Independence Day picnic when you were small. I had to carry you home on quite a few occasions."

"I wouldn't go telling DiNozzo that," Leroy commented. Jackson laughed.

"He's a good kid, they all are. They all respect you, Leroy, they all look up to you, Tony most of all. You know he sees you as a father figure."

"I know, Dad," Leroy admitted. He was proud of his time and the amount they'd all grown since they'd first entered his life. Even Palmer was coming along nicely. Gibbs thought that by the time Ducky retired (which wouldn't be for at least five years or more), he should have Palmer trained enough to not be scared of him.

"As long as you do, son. Now, I need to hit the hay. These old legs of mine can't keep up with these occasions so much any more, especially when I've got all these young things whizzing around."

"I told you not to give Abby that sugar," Gibbs laughed, remembering the sugar high Abby and Tony had gone on earlier that evening when Jackson had handed out some candy to the team.

"Ah, it was a bit of harmless fun, Leroy." Jackson waved it off, smiling to himself, having finished his coffee, since he'd only made himself a small mug.

Jackson headed up the stairs, using the wooden banister to steady himself. He went to the bathroom and did his nightly routine in there before he headed towards his guest bedroom. On the way, he passed Willow's room and noticed that the door was ajar. On an impulse, he cracked the door open further, taking a peek.

Willow was sprawled on her back, her hair fanned out around her face, her blanket half fallen off already. Jackson rolled his eyes and entered the room, bending down to readjust the blanket. Willow rolled over onto her stomach before settling back into sleep and Jackson finished tucking her in, running his fingers gently though her hair.

"Goodnight, kid." He softly smiled, completely unaware that he was being watched.

Jethro Gibbs smiled to himself as he watched his father tucking his daughter into bed. It was one of the sweetest things he had ever seen and also one of the saddest, since he remembered Jackson doing the same thing for Kelly on a couple of occasions. Not wanting to disturb the pair, Jethro left them to it, heading to his own bedroom.

Everything was working out to be fine.

**A.N. Hi, the first part of this story ends here, but it will continue on…I'll just skip a little bit of time.**

**R.W.**


	38. Chapter 37: 15th September, 2007

Willow sighed as she put her textbooks into her school bag, checking to make sure that she had everything that she needed for the evening of study she had planned. She checked her phone before sliding it into her pocket. No message from her dad telling her that the plan for the evening had changed, so that meant that she would do her ordinary routine for a Monday.

On Mondays, Willow went to NCIS after school. Willow didn't mind the arrangement because she had chemistry on Mondays and she'd spend most of her time down in Abby's lab chattering about what she'd done in class. Usually, it involved them babbling to each other very quickly and practically no one else being able to understand them.

Willow closed her school locker, hitching her school bag up on her shoulder and walking down the corridor, waving to a few people that she knew, who waved back cheerfully.

It surprised Willow how well she'd settled down in her new school. She hadn't made heaps of friends but she had a group of friends that she sat with at lunch and at least one anther person that was friendly towards her in each of her classes. She was a bit of a novelty still, the new girl for the first time in her life. Willow had been very self-conscious about the people staring at her at first, but she'd slowly gotten used to it. It still unnerved her but the feeling had eased as time passed. Willow was very glad, however, that her wounds from the fight with the vampires had healed. Otherwise, she knew she would have felt even more self-conscious.

She'd settled into her routine at home as well. Every morning, she woke up early and had breakfast with Gibbs before he'd leave to go to work and she'd finish getting ready. She caught the school bus from the end of her street and then went to school all day. After her last class of the day, what she did depended on the day of the week. Monday and Thursday afternoons, she caught the bus to the Navy yard and went to NCIS. On other days, she went home.

As fun as it was to talk science on Mondays, Willow liked Thursdays afternoons the best, as that was when she had training with Ziva. The first few weeks had left her feeling very battered and bruised following the sessions but she was gradually finding it easier to stay on her feet and Ziva had commented that she was pleased with the progress Willow was making. Willow had ducked her head in embarrassment, hiding behind her curtain of red hair, but not before she'd seen the look of pride on her father's face.

On the afternoons that she didn't go to NCIS, she went home and did homework or studied or worked on a computer program that she was developing. (She'd tried to explain it to Gibbs but had given up, much to Gibbs' relief, and gone to talk to McGee instead. They'd spent a good hour talking about it, while the rest of the team watched on. Even Abby had gotten confused.)

After dinner, when Gibbs wasn't busy, they would head downstairs to the basement and work on the boat together. For the first week or so, Willow had focused on sanding but as the shape of the boat took form, Gibbs had started to teach her a few of the trickier techniques needed in order to work on the more difficult parts of the boat.

In terms of her involvement in slaying, Willow had assigned herself a strictly research-based role. If Giles needed some help or something that was connected to the databases and websites that Willow frequented, he would call her (or get Xander or Oz to email her) and she would call back and talk the watcher through what she had discovered. She hadn't gone patrolling, or even for a walk, since the fateful night when she'd saved Abby's life. A part of that was due to the fact that Willow was still grounded and if she wasn't at school or at home or en route between the house, her school or the Navy Yard, she was supervised, either by Gibbs or by one of his agents. Willow didn't mind the inconvenience of it. She was mature enough to accept that she'd done the wrong thing and that there would be consequences.

Besides, despite the fact that she'd defeated the vampire's she'd faced, Willow knew that she was, by no stretch, a Slayer and as such, would be keeping safe by not getting involved in the physical aspect of slaying.

Willow left the school, her bag slung over her shoulder as she walked to the school bus that went past the Navy yard, getting on and dropping into a seat, pulling out her science book and doing some reading, so she would better be able to understand Abby when the Goth used scientific words that were beyond even Willow's vast knowledge.

NCIS/BtVS

Later that week, Willow was at her locker, collecting her bag following the last class of the day. She was going to go home and start on an assignment. It wasn't due for a while still but it was best to make a start on it early.

Her bag packed, Willow swung it over her shoulder and walked down the corridor towards the door, bumping shoulders with the mass of other students trying to get to freedom.

Finally, Willow escaped out into the sunlight and she began to walk towards her bus stop, only to stop when she saw Tony walking quickly towards her.

"Tony? What are you doing here?" she asked as he reached her side. Tony gently took her arm, steering her away from the busses.

"Something's come up. Gibbs wants you to come with me," he told her. Willow nodded.

"Are we going back to NCIS?" she asked. Tony paused before shaking his head.

"No, we're going to a safe house. Ziva is going to meet us there." Tony began to walk faster, and Willow lengthened her stride so she could keep up, Tony still holding her arm.

"Is my dad okay?"

"Yeah, he's fine; it's just that the case we're on at the moment is personal for Gibbs. Gibbs arrested this guy a few years ago and now he's out of prison and he wants revenge on Gibbs. Gibbs just wants you safe so he can focus on catching the bad guy," he explained softly and quickly. Willow gulped nervously and glanced over her shoulder. Tony had been forced to park a long way from the school and Willow suddenly felt nervous. Gibbs had told her that there was a possibility that the bad guys would track her down and kidnap her or use her for blackmail but she hadn't thought it would actually happen, and so soon at that. She hadn't been living with Gibbs for that long.

It hadn't happened yet but Gibbs was obviously concerned enough about these guys to send his second-in-command to pick her up from school and take her to a safe house, to ensure that it stayed that way. It was, however, sinking into Willow's mind at that moment just how much danger she was in. Willow inched a little closer to Tony as they hurried down the sidewalk.

They were on a side street, not far from where Tony had parked, when a car reversing out of a driveway blocked the footpath and then stopped. Tony tightened his hold on Willow's arm, backing up and turning around, pulling Willow along with him. Another car, this time a SUV, blocked the footpath going the other way.

"Run," ordered Tony and Willow bolted, the NCIS agent at her heels. Despite not being overly athletic, Willow's past experience at slaying had made her quite good at running and she was actually quite quick, for a human. They crossed the street and Willow instinctively made for the busier street, where there would be safety in numbers and she and Tony could get lost in the crowds of school kids. Tony ran behind her, even though Willow knew that he was doubtlessly faster than her, acting as a shield between her and the cars, which Willow knew, in her gut, were being driven by colleagues of the guy Gibbs was worried about.

Another car screeched in front of them and Willow narrowly avoided being hit by it because of Tony's quick thinking and reflexes, pulling her back from harm's way. The other two cars blocked them in against a brick wall. Tony protectively pushed Willow behind him, so her back was against the wall. Men got out of the cars, all of them heavily tattooed and wearing black ski masks. Willow counted nine of them, some of whom were carrying and brandishing knives and crow bars, while the rest of them had guns either obviously displayed tucked into their belts or in their hand. The way they carried the weapons so confidently indicated to Tony that the group knew what they were doing.

It appeared, however, that the gang weren't planning on using the weapons unless they had to. They encircled Tony and Willow and through the masks, Willow could see them leering at her and Tony. She ducked her gaze and shifted so she was slightly more behind Tony. She knew it was cowardly of her but seriously, she wasn't very experienced with human gangs. Vampire gangs, sure, not a problem, but human ones… not a chance.

A man, who Willow guessed was the leader, stepped forward and gestured with his gun towards the SUV that he had arrived in.

"Get in," he told them.

"No," Tony refused. "There's no way in hell that I'm getting in a car with you and neither is the kid." It took Willow a second to realize that Tony was talking about her. She shot a glare (one similar to the ones Gibbs favored) at the back of Tony's head but no one noticed. She sighed and decided that she needed to back Tony up, so she summoned the most resolved Resolve Face she could ever remember putting on her face and glared out from behind Tony. It might not have been overly convincing but it got the message across to the men.

The leader laughed. "Kitten's got spunk, just like her old man. God, I'm looking forward to seeing him break when he finds her body when i'm finished with her."

"You touch her and you're a dead man," Tony promised with a scowl. Willow believed him. If Gibbs didn't end up taking out whoever killed Willow, someone else on the team would. Not directly, perhaps. Ziva might implicate whoever it was had a thing against Israel and let Mossad handle it but either way, whoever it was would end up dead. Willow didn't approve but it wasn't like she would be able to do anything about it...since, well, she'd be dead.

"Continue to be a stubborn bastard and you're the dead man, Special Agent DiNozzo." The leader sneered, raising his gun menacingly and aiming it at the center of Tony's head. Willow gulped nervously and Tony licked his lips slightly.

"Ah, see, you've got that wrong. Gibbs is the bastard, I'm just the Italian ladies' man." Tony smiled charmingly. The gang leader sneered more fiercely, turning his gun in his hand and bringing the butt down on Tony's head hard. Tony fell to the ground, unconscious, as the thugs moved in, grabbing Willow by the arms.

Willow screamed as loud as she could and she thrust the heel of her palm into the nose of the nearest guy, wincing when she felt the man's nose break beneath her hand and blood spurted everywhere. As Willow's fighting instinct kicked in, she began to put up more of a fight, kicking two guys in the knees and punching another guy in the face, just like she'd seen Buffy do so many times. Unfortunately for Willow, Buffy had never mentioned how much punching a guy in the face hurt and she jumped back, shaking her hand, her eyes watering. It was enough of an opening for the remaining guys to close in on her, grabbing her and dragging her towards the SUV as she screamed and struggled. She saw the gun handle coming down on her head at the last minute before it made contact and everything went black. Willow slumped in her captors' arms, completely unconscious. They dumped her in the back of the SUV and another couple of thugs brought Tony's limp body over, dropping him into the vehicle right beside Willow.

The gang leader smirked as he took in the sight of the two unconscious kidnap victims before he raised his phone, taking a picture of the pair. Smirking, he sent the picture on to his boss, along with a short message.

' _Targets acquired.'_


	39. Chapter 38

Gibbs scowled as he looked up at the clock. He was expecting Tony or Ziva to have called him by now to report that Willow was at the safe house but as yet, he'd heard nothing. Of course, the traffic might be bad or they could have been held up in some other way (Tony was, after all, not as fast a driver compared with Gibbs or Ziva) but he would have appreciated being kept in the loop. Willow was his daughter after all and after the thing with the vampires the Friday before Independence Day; Gibbs liked to have an idea of where Willow was.

It was daylight outside, so Willow was in no danger from vampires, Gibbs had to reason. But still, at that moment, vampires were the least of Gibbs' concerns.

Gibbs was drawn from his musing when McGee walked in, returning from Abby's lab.

"Er, Boss, everything alright?" the junior agent on the team asked.

"Bring up traffic reports. I want to see how heavy traffic is between the safe house and Willow's school."

"Sure, Boss," McGee said, sitting down at his desk and beginning to type quickly on his keyboard. Gibbs turned his back towards the younger man, still watching the clock apprehensively. He let out a quiet sigh of relief when his phone rang and a quick check of the caller ID told him that Ziva was calling.

"How long does it take for Tony to get there, Ziva?" Gibbs growled.

"I don't know, Gibbs. Has Tony called you?"

"No, why?"

"He and Willow have not arrived yet and I am concerned," Ziva replied. Gibbs swore and hung up.

"Boss, traffic report says nothing too heavy between the locations, no crashes or incidents to slow traffic down too much."

"Track Tony's cell. He and Willow haven't got to the safe house yet," Gibbs ordered. McGee nodded and began to type quickly.

"It's not turned on at the moment, boss. I can't remotely switch it on either. I'm not getting anything of it."

"Meaning what, McGee?"

"The SIM card has been destroyed," McGee said.

"Try Willow's," Gibbs ordered, ignoring the weight that had settled in his gut. If Tony's phone had been wrecked, then it wasn't a good sign.

"Got it. It's in a side street, a couple of blocks from the school."

"Alright, let's go," Gibbs said, picking up his bag, badge and gun. McGee followed his team leader's instructions and they both hurried to the elevator.

NCIS/BtVS

After what was unquestioningly the most frightening car ride McGee had ever experienced, they arrived in the alleyway. Gibbs parked and they got out.

"There's Tony's car." He pointed it out and they approached it. It was still locked up safely.

"They didn't even make it to the car." Gibbs frowned and they scouted the narrow street. Gibbs was the one who spotted Willow's schoolbag, sitting on the pavement beside a brick wall, and he ran over to it, unzipping the zipper with his gloved hands. Willow's mobile phone was in the bag, still innocently switched on silent, as they were supposed to be during the day, according to the school's rules.

"Damn," Gibbs swore angrily, putting the phone back in the bag.

"Boss, I've got a blood splatter here." McGee pointed at the red stains on the pavement. Gibbs looked at it. It was nowhere near enough blood for a fatal wound but it was still concerning.

"We've got tire tracks too," Gibbs said, pointing at the skid marks on the pavement. They studied the directions that the car tracks went in.

"They were boxed in, three cars," McGee reasoned aloud. Gibbs nodded, pulling out his own phone and calling NCIS. He was going to need help processing the crime scene. While Gibbs was on the phone, McGee went back to their car and fetched the camera out of his bag. Then with a heavy sigh, he began to take crime scene photos of Willow's bag and the blood splattered on the ground. Samples would have to be taken to Abby for DNA testing but McGee sincerely hoped that it wasn't Tony's or Willow's.

He was distracted when Ziva's car pulled into the side street and parked. She got out and hurried over. Gibbs was over near Tony's car, so she frowned at Tim.

"Still nothing?' she asked.

"I think that Tony and Willow got boxed in against this wall. Tire tracks indicate three cars trapping them against this wall. We've got blood spatter but I'm going to need to send it to Abby before we know whose it is. There isn't enough of it, though, to be a fatal injury," McGee told her. Ziva nodded, putting her gloves on as Gibbs approached them.

"We've got BOLOs out on both of them," he told them, "and there's a security camera attached to a sign on the corner."

"I'll bring it up when we go back to NICS," McGee promised, knowing that he didn't have the equipment with him to access the camera remotely. Gibbs nodded, his gaze lingering on Willow's abandoned backpack. Abby had given it to her as a 'thank you for saving my life because I was stupid' present. It was black with a little cartoon vampire on it. Gibbs had wondered at the appropriateness of it but Willow had found it funny.

As terrifying as that night had been, it had managed to solidify the relationship between Abby and Willow and the two were practically best friends now. It was limited slightly by the difference in age, since Willow was nowhere near old enough to go out clubbing with Abby and Abby quite enjoyed going out clubbing.

Willow had, however, been invited by Abby to go bowling with the nuns the coming Friday night. Sister Rosetta was very eager to meet the girl who had saved Abby from 'some muggers,' despite the fact that Willow wasn't even Christian. Willow had been looking forward to it. Gibbs frowned. There was no way that Willow was going to miss out on the event. Whatever it took, Gibbs vowed that Willow would be free and able to go with her new best friend on a fun night out.

NCIS/BtVS

Back at NCIS, Gibbs personally took the evidence down to Abby. The goth scientist was looking at her computer when he walked in and, in her reflection on the screen, Gibbs could see the tears in her eyes. He also immediately noticed that the usually very loud music was very quiet, a certain sign that something was wrong in the world of Abby. Already news must have spread.

"Abby," he said softly. Abby spun around and when she saw him, she ran up to him and hugged him.

"Gibbs, please don't let it be true. You have to get them back," she said. Gibbs put the evidence on a table and hugged Abby back.

"They'll be okay. Tony will look after Willow and he can look after himself too. They'll be okay," he reassured Abby. Abby nodded.

"I'll get to work on this evidence," she promised, picking up the box. She carried it over to a bench and began hooking things out, her gaze lingering on the blood samples that Ziva had scraped from the pavement. She glanced over at her wall, where she had pictures of the team stuck up. Gibbs knew that she was looking at the photo of Tony and resolved that when Willow and Tony were recovered, he would make sure that Abby got a photo of Willow to stick up on the wall too. Whether his daughter knew it or not, she was a member of the NCIS family now and she always would be.

NCIS/BtVS

Up in the bullpen, Gibbs found McGee tapping frantically on the keys of his computer.

"Boss, I've got the video feed from where Tony and Willow were ambushed," he reported.

Gibbs nodded. "Bring it up."

McGee nodded and the video began to play on the big screen. Hey saw Willow and Tony walking quickly into the shot, which had a wide view of the entire street. A car coming out of a driveway backed out in front of them and Tony led Willow to the other side of the street, where they were blocked again. Both the agent and the teenager turned and ran back towards the main street but another car swung in and cut them off, almost hitting Willow in the progress. The three cars moved so they were blocking the pair in and Tony protectively stood in front of Willow as men got out of the cars… armed thugs by the look of them.

"Oh, God," Tim murmured. There was no audio on the camera but Gibbs could tell that Tony was mouthing off. Ziva hissed softly and looked away when Tony was struck and dropped to the ground, unconscious, and Gibbs' gut clenched as the thugs closed in on Willow. He felt pride flicker up within him as he saw Willow begin to fight off her attackers, using some of the moves that Ziva had taught her as well as a few that Gibbs figured must have originated from her prior training in Sunnydale.

Eventually, though, Willow dropped down too and both of them were carried to one of the cars and unceremoniously dumped in the back before the cars peeled off, leaving tracks in the pavement.

"Running the car license plate numbers now, boss," McGee said. Gibbs shook his head, doubting that McGee would find anything. The men that had attacked Tony and Willow had obviously been professionals and not just ordinary, everyday street thugs.

"Gibbs, if they'd wanted Tony and Willow dead, they would have killed them there," Ziva told him. Gibbs nodded. He knew that the former Mossad officer was trying to comfort him but with Tony and Willow still missing and with probable head injuries, it was a rather empty consolation. Gibbs wasn't going to relax until both Tony and Willow were safely back with them.

"Boss, I've tracked down the cars that they used. They were all reported stolen this morning and were found abandoned about fifteen minutes ago. They'd been torched. Nobody was inside them, the fire department says, and nobody has been injured," McGee reported after hanging up his phone. Gibbs frowned. According to the timestamp on the video, Tony and Willow had been gone for over two hours. Two hours had passed and they had nothing to show for it.

Gibbs was pulled from his musing by the ringing of his phone.

"Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs, I have something for you," Abby said excitedly on the phone. Gibbs was halfway to the elevator by the time she'd finished speaking.

"I'll be right down, Abs," he replied before he hung up and hurried into the elevator, glaring at several interns and junior agents who were already in the car. They all gulped and immediately got out and walked towards the stairs. The doors slid closed and Gibbs leaned his head back against the metal walls of the box as it descended. Sometimes having a reputation as a bastard was a good thing. The elevator dinged and Gibbs was out quickly, walking straight toward Abby's lab.

"Gibbs, Gibbs, I've got something on those blood samples. A little bit of it was Tony's but most of it belonged to this man," Abby brought a criminal record up onto her screen, "Roberto Castella, thirty-seven, previous charges of grand theft auto, assault, breaking and entering, drunk and disorderly, drug charges and he's been implicated of being an associate of Igor Chekovic," Abby babbled. Gibbs frowned. Igor Chekovic was the man he'd been worried about. Gibbs had arrested him years ago but now he was on the loose again and obviously was still holding a grudge.

Gibbs looked at the picture of Castella, noting that he was reasonably handsome or at least he had been. Given the amount of force, Willow had used when she'd hit the guy with the heel of her hand and given the amount of blood on the scene; Gibbs knew that Willow had broken the man's nose.

God, he was proud of her. By injuring Castella, Willow had given them, perhaps unwittingly, a lead to follow.

"Good work, Abs," he praised, heading out of the lab and back towards the elevator. Abby beamed and turned back to her computer, beginning to focus her attention on the next pieces of evidence Gibbs and the team had gathered. It was late and Abby was tired but she wasn't going to stop, not until Tony and Willow were safe and back with Gibbs. She crossed to her fridge and retrieved a CafPow that she'd had on standby and took a slurp.

It was going to be a long night.


	40. Chapter 39: 16th September

Tony groaned as he regained consciousness, frowning when he felt the distinctive throbbing in his head that came from being hit with something rather like a gun grip in shape.

His memory began to return to him as he lay there, trying to piece together what had been happening, and he felt his gut clench wildly as he remembered Willow, her eyes wide and frightened as they'd been boxed in by the cars. Tony's eyes flew open and he looked around, wincing as the movement made his head throb even more.

He was lying on the concrete floor of a small room, his hands bound behind his back and his legs bound together. He could make out the shape of someone lying beside him in the inky darkness and he felt relief wash over him when he spotted the distinctive long red hair.

"Willow," he whispered but got no response. Tony wriggled a little and began to inch over to where Willow lay, letting out a heavy sigh of relief when he saw the even rise and fall of her chest. She was alive and her breathing was steady and even. Considering the way he was tied up, Tony couldn't reach to measure Willow's pulse but from what he could see, she looked uninjured and her color was good.

Relieved that his boss's daughter wasn't about to die on him and that she hadn't already, Tony flopped back and lay on the floor, looking up at the ceiling. It seemed to him, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, that he was in a store room of some kind, although the shelves had been stripped bare. Considering the coarse building materials, Tony was pretty sure that they were in a warehouse or factory of some description.

Tony wondered how much time had passed since he and Willow had been taken and wondered if Gibbs had figured out that something was amiss yet. Knowing Gibbs, he probably knew in his gut the moment that Tony and Willow had walked into the side street that something was wrong.

Of course, the moment Gibbs did find out that something wasn't right for his daughter and his senior field agent he would have started getting the rest of the team ready and have begun investigating.

It would only be a matter of time before Gibbs came in, kicking the door down, with guns blazing and ready to take down anyone who got in the way of him rescuing his daughter.

All Tony had to do was protect Willow from any further harm and wait it out until Gibbs got there.

NCIS/BtVS

The first thing that Willow was aware of was that her head hurt. Her shoulders did too and her wrists as well but her head hurt the most, persistently throbbing in time with the beating of her heart. It took her a few moments to realize that she was lying on cold, hard concrete; she could feel the grit of dirt beneath her cheek. She scrunched up her nose and groaned.

"Willow?" a concerned voice asked. For a moment she thought it was Xander and she wondered what on earth had happened. Obviously they'd been captured… again but then, Willow realized, and she hadn't been anywhere near Sunnydale in months and Xander's voice sounded wrong.

"Willow, you okay?" the voice asked. Willow frowned to herself. Tony? Yes, that was it. That was Tony's voice. She cracked her eyes open, memories of what happened in the side street coming back.

"Tony?' she said, coughing as she accidently breathed in dust.

"Yeah, you okay?'

"I think so. What about you?"

"I'm fine," Tony said as Willow began to wriggle and worm her way over to the wall he was leaning against.

"What time is it?" Willow asked as she reached his side and wriggled into an upright position.

"No idea, I can't see my watch, and you don't have one on."

"Yeah, I forgot to put it on again this morning after my shower. My bad," Willow admitted.

"Ah, but did you remember rule nine?' Tony asked. Willow paused thoughtfully and Tony could see her mentally going through the rules until she reached number nine… never go anywhere without a knife.

"Tony… I just got out of school. Of course I'm not carrying a knife. They have rules against knifes in schools, except in the cooking classrooms and the biology classrooms, I guess if you class scalpels as knives and you're dissecting frogs… eww, frogs. I hate frogs." Willow shivered. Tony rolled his eyes.

"Willow, you're babbling," he told her. Willow stopped and took a breath.

"Thanks, so, yeah, no knife. Where's yours?"

"They took it. Isn't there some Scooby weapon they you always carry?"

"A cross and a stake… they were in my school bag, which I dropped when those guys grabbed me," Willow admitted apologetically.

"Damn," Tony swore.

"How much trouble are we in?" Willow asked softly.

"From Gibbs? Well, let me put it this way, if we get out of this alive, I'm a dead man and if I don't come out of this alive, he'll find a way to bring me back, just so he can kill me himself."

"What about from the bad guys?" Willow asked. Tony chewed his lip, wondering how much to tell her.

"Well," he conceded, "if it's the same group that Gibbs was worried about, they aren't nice guys and they don't like cops or Feds, but at the same time they won't want us dead, not for awhile at least, so Gibbs has got plenty of time to come and rescue us."

Willow didn't really find his answer overly reassuring and decided to say nothing in response.

"So," Tony said eventually, "have you ever been held captive before?" Willow blinked, thinking back.

"A couple of times," she admitted, "but never for very long."

"Ah," Tony said understandingly, slightly relieved to know that Willow at least had some idea of what was about to happen. He imagined that being held captive by a demon wouldn't be that much different from being held by a deranged psychopath.

Speaking of deranged psychopaths, Tony's keen ears picked up the sound of heavy footsteps on the other side of the door.

"Ready?" he whispered to Willow, who turned her face, looking at him, a very Gibbs-like look of determination on her face. She nodded and Tony grinned.

"Good," he whispered as the lock clicked and the door was roughly opened.

NCIS/BtVS

Willow lay still for a few moments after the door slammed shut before she tentatively began to move. She lifted her head, studiously ignoring the wet feeling on her chin and the coppery taste of blood in her mouth, the source of both areas of discomfort lying in the cut in her lip from where she'd been biting it. She looked around the dim room, seeking out Tony. The agent was lying motionless on the ground not far from her, still bound, just like her.

Slowly and painfully, Willow began to inch over to him, trying to not make a sound that would draw their kidnappers back to their room. Willow hoped that it would be awhile before they returned.

"Tony," she whispered as she reached the side of the fallen senior field agent. She felt her eyes well with tears as she saw the damage he had taken but she refused to let them fall. She had to be strong, for his sake. He had been so strong for her, now she needed to prove that she could be tough for him. But still, Tony was in horrid shape. His shirt was ripped and bloodied and Willow could see blood oozing from the gashes in his back where their captors had whipped him.

Tony had let nothing come out of his mouth during the whipping and the beating that followed, except for smart comments that Willow knew was Tony's way of getting their captors to get angry with him, to focus their attention solely on him, and therefore sparing her from receiving the same treatment he was receiving.

"Oh, Tony," Willow whispered sadly, wishing her hands were free so she could administer first aid to him. Tony didn't respond. Willow knew that he was unconscious. (She didn't blame him, she would have passed out long before him, had their places been reversed.)

Judging from the amount of light coming through the tiny window right against the roof in one corner of the small, concrete room, it was midday. Willow sighed and huddled up beside Tony, determined that she would sit guard beside him until either they were rescued or their kidnappers forced her away from him, whichever came first.

Tony and the rest of the team had all been so kind towards her since her arrival in Washington D.C. Willow knew that it was high time that she repaid the favor.

NCIS/BtVS

Willow jumped as she heard Tony groan from beside her, having not expected the noise. She had sat up beside him for what felt like hours, watching the door and trying to make Tony comfortable (well, as comfortable as he was going to get on the hard, concrete floor). She frowned, wishing she could have done more for the stricken special agent but her hands were tied (literally) behind her back, limiting how much she could do.

"Tony? Tony, are you okay?" she asked. Tony groaned again.

"Where's Gibbs?" he asked.

"He hasn't got here yet," Willow replied, frowning. Tony blinked, lifting his head slightly before he lowered it again, hissing in pain.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Willow nodded seriously. "Yes, they haven't been back since they dropped you back in here. I tried to make sure that you were comfortable, but it's kind of tricky with my hands tied up behind my back, so I really couldn't do much to help you."

"No, you did a good job, Willow. Gibbs would be proud of you," Tony told her.

"How… how do you feel? You looked pretty badly beaten," Willow asked, hoping that he wasn't seriously hurt.

"I'm fine," Tony replied.

"My dad tells me that you always say that. You might have just had you leg chopped off and you would still say you were fine."

"It's a flesh wound," Toy quipped. Willow rolled her eyes.

"I don't think those guys are rabid bunnies," she told him. "Come on, I saw it, remember? I watched those guys beat you like that. Be honest with me, please, Tony?"

Tony shifted. "Maybe some bruised ribs, my entire body aches, just your everyday feeling you get once you've had your butt kicked," He told her. Willow nodded, satisfied with the answer. Tony was a big boy and he'd been an agent for a long time and a cop before that. He would probably know what beatings felt like.

The door burst open once again and Willow whipped her head towards it, glaring at the man on the other side. It was the same man who had beaten Tony.

"Is it time for round two?" Tony asked.

"Shut up, DiNozzo, it's the girl's turn now. Can't have you hogging all the attention now, can we?" The man said, hauling Willow to her feet by her arms and roughly cutting the bonds that bound her wrists. She brought her arms around to the front, gasping as her shoulders protested the movement, although they were already sore from being held for so long in the unnatural position.

"Willow!" Tony yelled in warning. Willow yelped aloud as a fist made contact with her face, forcing her to her knees. She looked at the floor for a moment before she glared up at the man.

"We have not yet been introduced," he told her. "My name is Igor… Igor Chekovic. I know your father, Willow Rosenberg, or rather, should I say, Willow Gibbs."

"What do you want with me?"

"To prove a point. Gibbs took my freedom away from me and now I'll take the most important thing in his life away from him, his precious baby girl. You know, your return couldn't have happened at a better time. I escape from prison and you're just… there, ready for the taking, although I must admit," Chekovic looked down at Tony in disdain, "I did imagine that it would be slightly more difficult to get my hands on you."

"My father's going to find me and he's not going to be happy that I got taken and that you hurt Tony," Willow replied.

"Oh, I'm looking forward to that," Chekovic sneered. "You see, Willow, you know, when they say that if you attack out of anger, you're bound to make a mistake. Well… Gibbs is going to be very angry."

"You're still going to end up being caught," Willow replied. Chekovic cocked his head to his side, a thoughtful look on his face.

"You know, I think you're right." He smirked before hitting Willow again in the face. She dropped to the ground and Chekovic kicked her in the ribs. Willow curled in on herself as Tony yelled out.

"Leave her alone, you bastard," he said, struggling to get to his feet. He got up as high as his knees before Chekovic called out. Another man entered the cell, closing the door behind him.

"Deal with DiNozzo," Chekovic said. The man nodded, approaching Tony. Willow's heart leapt into her mouth as the thug backhanded Tony with enough force to send the agent sprawling to the ground, unconscious.

"Tony!" Willow screamed as Chekovic grabbed her shoulders and shoved her face-first into the concrete wall. Willow shuddered as she felt Chekovic's body pressing hers into the wall, his hand's roughly grasping her wrists as he drew them up, attaching them to iron manacles that hung from the roof, suspended by chains. Willow let out a sigh of relief as Chekovic stepped away, obviously satisfied that she wasn't going anywhere. Willow looked over her aching shoulder, trying to see what the man was doing. The thug that had knocked Tony out had passed Chekovic a leather strap, a whip. Willow whimpered and her eyes filled with tears that she refused to let fall. Chekovic cracked the whip through the air and Willow instinctively shied away from the loud noise. The men both laughed and Willow closed her eyes for a brief moment before turning her head to focus on Tony's body, slumped to the ground. She was glad that he wasn't conscious to see this. She knew that he would never forgive himself for letting what was about to happen occur but it would be far worse had he been actually conscious to witness it.

The whip cracked down through the air again, this time making contact. Willow bit her lip as pain flared in her back as the whip flicked through the air, coming down on her back a second time.

Willow hoped and prayed that Gibbs was not far away as the whipping continued, the burning pain in her back progressively getting worse and worse with each time the whip was brought down on her back. She didn't know how much longer she and Tony were going to last in these conditions.

Eventually, Chekovic walked away, chuckling to himself psychotically, leaving the thug to let Willow roughly down from the chains, tying her hands back behind her back and dropping her to the hard ground, before following his boss from the room. Willow's vision darkened as the door slammed shut.

"Dad, where are you?" she whispered softly to the cell, but no one responded and Willow succumbed to the welcoming darkness of oblivion.


	41. Chapter 40: 17th September, 2007

Willow groaned as she returned to consciousness, wincing as her back flared with pain. She opened her eyes, surprised to note that it was daylight once again. During her beating, the sky outside the cell had been darkening but now it was bright outside again. Obviously she had slept through the whole night. She wasn't sure whether or not that was a good thing, but she had and nothing was going to change that.

"Willow?" Tony softly asked. Willow groaned in response.

"Tony?'

"Yeah, you okay?"

"Honestly, no," Willow admitted. "Getting whipped hurts."

Tony chuckled. "Don't need to tell me that twice. I feel the same way."

"How does your head feel? You got hit really hard," Willow told him. Tony winced.

"It's felt better," he told her. "I think we can safely chalk up another concussion for me to add to my long and distinguished list of concussions."

Willow grimaced, remembering her concussion from her attempted solo-slaying trip.

"Ouch, that's not good. Have you got any other injuries?"

"I'm not the one who only just woke up… I should be asking you that." Tony grinned. Willow bit her lip, having been hoping that Tony wouldn't notice her avoidance of that topic.

"My entire body aches. It's not so bad as the last time I got hurt… you know, when I got concussed, but my back really stings and I think I'm going to be covered in bruises… again."

"Alright. You tell me if anything starts to hurt worse, alright."

"Only if you do too," Willow replied. Tony hesitated.

"Deal," he finally replied. Willow smiled, glad that they were done with talking about injuries, up until any of their injuries deteriorated. Even though he'd given her his word, Willow still doubted that Tony would be overly forthcoming in his heath status, even if he did start feeling worse. He was a guy and Willow knew from her past experiences with Jessie and Xander that they whined about minor things like paper cuts but when it came to more serious injuries, they didn't say anything. Tony, she figured, would be exactly the same.

"So, what time do you think it is?" she asked.

"Midday, I think. Gibbs is better at guessing time of day than I am but I think it's about midday," Tony guessed.

"When did you wake back up?" Willow asked, laying still, since she knew any sort of movement on her part was going to hurt.

"Not that long ago. I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you," Tony apologized.

"Tony." Willow turned her head so she could better see the agent, fighting the urge to wince as her injured and battered body protested the movement. "It's not your fault, its Chekovic's. He's the one who did this to me, not you… not anyone else."

"I know but…" Tony was cut off before he could finish when the cell door burst open, causing light to flood into the cell. Willow and Tony both tried to protect their eyes from the sudden, piercing light and Willow squealed as she felt hands grabbing at her, hauling to her feet. Not far away, Tony was hauled to his feet too.

"Hey, what the hell?" Tony yelled, trying to shake off his attackers but failing to achieve much given his hands were tied. Willow frowned as her feet were unchained and she was roughly shoved towards the exit of the cell, glancing fearfully over her shoulder at Tony, who was being treated the same way.

"Move, both of you. Now," one of the thugs that had come to collect them ordered, waving his gun about. Tony decided that it would be a wise idea to follow orders (for once) and began to shuffle from the cell. Willow followed his lead, shuffling along behind him as quickly as her injured body could.

They left the cell and headed down a corridor, which led to a narrow flight of stairs. Willow slowly climbed the stairs, wincing as one of the three thugs that had brought she and Tony out of the cell jabbed his gun into her back.

"Keep moving, bitch," he growled. Willow bit her lip and nodded, too scared to fight. She could handle facing vampires but this situation was completely different. She knew the general thought process of vampires and demons but this was different. She had no idea what was going to happen next and it terrified her.

"It'll be okay, Willow," Tony said reassuringly over her shoulder, perhaps sensing how nervous she was.

"Shut up and keep moving," another of the men snapped, poking at Tony with his gun.

"Ow, easy with your poking," Tony exclaimed. "I don't think your boss wants us to be any more damaged than we already are, thank you very much."

Willow smiled at Tony's chastising of the thugs and steeled herself. She needed to be brave, like Tony. She needed to be brave for her father and walk into the unknown with her head held high.

Resolve face firmly in place, Willow walked behind Tony out of the stairwell and into a large open area. Willow realized it was the interior of a warehouse, just like one of many that were scattered around Sunnydale, home to nests of vampires. It also made her think of the crime shows she'd seen on TV and how warehouses were often were gangs liked to hang out or hide out, whatever the case might be.

At one end of the warehouse, there was a roller door, which opened out onto a loading dock cut into the concrete, so trucks could be backed up and goods loaded and unloaded easily. Glancing around, Willow saw that seven of Chekovic's men were in the warehouse, including Chekovic. She wondered where the others were – there had been nine when she and Tony had been captured. Probably off causing some form of mayhem out in the city, she guessed.

Chekovic, having seen Tony and Willow approaching, smiled and walked over to them.

"Oh, come now, don't look so glum," he told them. "You should enjoy this… it may well be the last time you get to see the sunshine and the fresh air," he gestured out the roller door and Willow's eye's flickered in that direction. The sky looked cheerful and sunny, not at all what she'd thought it would be like. Somehow clouds would have been far more appropriate, she decided, or even rain.

"Go to hell," Tony told them. Willow nodded in agreement, mentally adding that they should go to the Hellmouth. Chekovic wouldn't last long in Sunnydale before being made a meal. Of course, that would raise the possibility of Chekovic being turned into a vampire and the idea of that sent a shiver down Willow's spine. Normal vamps were bad enough without them being murderers before they even were turned. Willow shuddered, ignoring the sharp pain the movement sent down her back.

"I will meet you there, Special Agent DiNozzo. Trust me, this change of location may have delayed my plans but it will not alter my ultimate goal. Gibbs will still be utterly destroyed and you and young Willow here will be the instruments… the tools, if you like, I use to achieve my goal. Oh, how I look forward to watching Gibbs when he finds your bodies. Perhaps I will send you to him, piece by piece. I should start with a finger… or a toe and work my way up, finish off with sending him your stone cold, hard, unbeating hearts in a box. Perhaps by then, he will have learned that he shouldn't have gotten in my way."

"You're sick," Tony spat. Chekovic shrugged.

"Perhaps," he admitted, "but I'm in charge here and you're not, DiNozzo, so I would shut up if I were you before I lose my temper and blow your Goddamned head off."

Chekovic and two of the thugs turned and walked out of the warehouse through the roller door. Willow glanced at Tony's face and he nodded at her reassuringly. Willow nodded in reply and slid her resolve face firmly back on as they slowly began to follow Chekovic from the warehouse.

NCIS/BtVS

Leroy Jethro Gibbs checked his gun and his vest before he closed the back of his car, gun staying out. He, McGee, and Ziva had located the warehouse where Chekovic and his gang hung out, thanks to the capture of two members of the gang who Gibbs had recognized from the surveillance tape from the side street Tony and Willow had been captured in. The men had caved under the pressure of Gibbs' questioning and spilled the location of Chekovic's hide-out in no time at all with both men giving the same address, which turned out to be a warehouse, as well as the names of the other men involved in the kidnapping.

Satisfied that the intelligence was good, Gibbs had staked out the building in question. Tim had secured the use of a thermal imaging camera to determine that there were seven people in the building.

Knowing the risk of going into the warehouse and walking into an ambush, Gibbs had sent one of the captured thugs go, so he could warn Chekovic that their location was compromised. Listening in on the microphone the man was carrying, Gibbs knew that the plan was working. They were arranging to move to a second address. They also overheard Chekovic order three of his men to go and collect their captives, meaning Tony and Willow, and take them to the loading bay.

Not wasting any time, Gibbs and his team had prepared and taken up their positions, hidden until Tony, Willow, and Chekovic emerged from the warehouse. Gibbs listened as Chekovic placed orders before he began to talk to Tony and Willow, who had obviously been brought out. Gibbs lay still, listening to the conversation through his earwig as he waited until Tony, Willow, and the men who had them were visible.

"Oh, come now, don't look so glum," Chekovic was saying calmly. "You should enjoy this… it may well be the last time you get to see the sunshine and the fresh air,"

"Go to hell," Tony replied.

"I will meet you there, Special Agent DiNozzo. Trust me, this change of location may have delayed my plans but it will not alter my ultimate goal. Gibbs will still be utterly destroyed and you and young Willow here will be the instruments… the tools, if you like, I use to achieve my goal. Oh, how I look forward to watching Gibbs when he finds your bodies. Perhaps I will send you to him, piece by piece. I should start with a finger… or a toe and work my way up, finish off with sending him your stone cold, hard, unbeating hearts in a box. Perhaps by then he will have learned that he shouldn't have gotten in my way," Chekovic snarled.

"You're sick," Tony spat.

"Perhaps," Chekovic admitted, "but I'm in charge here and you're not, DiNozzo, so I would shut up if I were you before I lose my temper and blow your Goddamned head off."

With that the audio feed went quiet again and Gibbs guessed that Chekovic was walking away from Tony and Willow. He braced himself, ready to spring into action.

Gibbs, McGee and Ziva didn't need to wait long. Chekovic and the man that had been captured by Gibbs, as well as another man who was bald-headed, emerged first, walking calmly from the warehouse. They stood in the car park and the bald headed man went to fetch a van, reversing it close to the building. Gibbs shifted to improve his line of sight of the docking bay and his heart caught in his throat as he saw Tony, with Willow walking behind, surrounded by three men with guns. Both Willow and Tony looked pale and bloody and Gibbs felt his gut clench when Tony's knees buckled a little under his weight, obviously fighting the effects of some sort of injury.

"Boss?" McGee asked over his earwig.

"Now. NCIS Federal Agents," Gibbs yelled, jumping up form his hiding place, gun firing. He heard Ziva and McGee jump up, yelling as well. Chekovic and his men grabbed their guns and opened fire and Gibbs was glad that he'd taken care of the three closest to Willow and Tony first. Gunfire echoed around the car park as Gibbs and his team were fired upon. Gibbs felt satisfaction as the last of the bad guys… ironically, Chekovic himself, dropped to the ground limply, his body littered with bullet holes.

As quickly as it ended the gunfight was over. Gibbs cautiously lowered his gun, and looked up at where Tony and Willow had been standing. He felt his heart jump up into his throat. Tony was on his knees. Even from the distance, Gibbs could see a couple of rapidly spreading blood red stains on Tony's shirt. Behind Tony, Willow had lost all color in her face as she too slumped to her knees. Gibbs was already racing towards them, Ziva a few steps ahead of him.

"Tony," she yelled as Tony collapsed sideways, unconscious… or worse. With Tony on the ground, Gibbs could see the red smear on the sleeve of Willow shirt, spreading from her shoulder and, even more worrying, the blood stain spreading on her abdomen.

"Willow!" he yelled, climbing up onto the platform and throwing himself at his daughter's side, trusting that McGee was calling for paramedics.

"Dad," Willow said hoarsely before her eyes rolled back in her head and she slumped, unmoving, against Gibbs' chest.


	42. Chapter 41: 17th September, 2007

Gibbs rubbed his hand over his face as he sat in the hard, highly uncomfortable plastic chair of the hospital waiting room, his gazed distant and unfocused. He could feel Abby beside him, leaning against his arm, sniffing sadly occasionally. He also knew that the rest of his team were around him… or, well, most of them.

Tim was sitting on Abby's other side, rubbing her arm soothingly, trying to not show his own emotions. Ziva was sitting across from them, her dark eyes sparkling with tears she refused to let fall, her feet tucked up onto the seat as she curled in on herself, trying to protect herself from getting more badly hurt. Palmer was there too, looking intently at his shoes and not saying a word. Gibbs knew that Palmer and Tony were good friends… they had been, Ducky had told him, since his hiatus to Mexico a few years before.

Gibbs, however, couldn't bring himself to care at that precise moment. He was sitting in the waiting room, covered with Willow's blood, desperate for news regarding either his senior field agent… the closest thing to a son he had, or his daughter, whom he had believed to be dead for so many long years. They'd both been whisked away for surgery the moment they'd arrived and Ducky had gone with them. They hadn't heard anything in over an hour.

Vance had ordered a secondary team out to the warehouse to process the crime scene and Ducky and Palmer would do the autopsies later but Gibbs didn't care about that. He knew what had happened. He knew that Chekovic and his gang had been taken out by he, Ziva and McGee and that Tony and Willow had both been shot multiple times during the resulting gunfight. Gibbs blinked and he was back at the warehouse.

NCIS/BtVS

" _Tony!" Ziva yelled as Tony collapsed sideways, unconscious… or worse. With Tony on the ground, Gibbs could see the red smear on the sleeve of Willow shirt, spreading from her shoulder, and even more worryingly, the blood stain spreading on her abdomen._

" _Willow!" he yelled, climbing up onto the platform and throwing himself at his daughter's side, trusting that McGee was calling for paramedics._

" _Dad," Willow said hoarsely before her eyes rolled back in her head and she slumped, unmoving, against Gibbs' chest._

" _NO! Willow, don't do this," Gibbs yelled, moving so Willow's limp form wasn't leaning against his body. He laid her gently on the concrete, his fingers going to her throat, praying to a God that he had long ago stopped believing in that she was still alive. He let out a groan of relief when he felt the weak pulse of Willow's blood through her veins beneath his fingers and saw the uneven rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. He pulled off his jacket, bunching it together and pressing down against the hole in Willow's abdomen that a bullet had made._

" _Willow, stay with me," Gibbs ordered, ignoring the way his voice caught, hitching painfully, and the way that his heart was nearly jumping out of his chest, as if he had just run a marathon. Still maintaining pressure on Willow's abdomen, Gibbs looked at the wound in Willow's shoulder, wincing at the depth and the amount of blood that flowed from the wound with each of Willow's faltering heartbeats. He looked over his shoulder at where Tony lay, being worked on by Ziva. His heart caught in his mouth when he saw that Ziva was performing CPR on her partner, tears pouring down her face as she swore furiously at Tony in Hebrew, threatening that if he died she would show him how much damage she could to his body with just a paperclip. McGee was on the phone to 911, telling the operator where they were and what had happened. His job completed, McGee hung up and began to help Ziva with Tony. Gibbs nodded approvingly. Despite the amount of blood she had lost, Willow was in better shape than Tony. She was still breathing and her heart was still beating. Tony, on the other hand, was in serious trouble._

_Trusting Ziva and McGee to look after Tony, Gibb returned his attention to Willow, not liking how pale her skin was. She looked as pale as Angel had and Angel was, technically speaking, a corpse._

" _Stay with me," Gibbs said softly, not caring that he was begging… pleading… Willow not to die, "you hear me? Don't quit. You didn't survive Sunnydale just to get taken down like this. You will not die, you got that? Giles told me once that you're good at following instructions… well, here's an important one. You will not die," he told her, forcibly reminded when he had said similar words to Tony as the younger man had struggled to fight off his case of the plague._

_Willow didn't respond and Gibbs pushed down on her abdomen a little harder, ignoring the fact that his hands were coated in Willow's blood, as was his clothes. He would throw them out later, knowing that whatever happened just the sight of those clothes would force him to remember today, would bring to mind memories of Willow and Tony falling to the ground, bleeding heavily, the sound of McGee and Ziva fighting to keep Tony alive, the warm feeling of Willow's blood on Gibbs' skin._

_Gibbs heard the distant wailing of the ambulance and let out a sigh of relief that proper medical attention was not far away._

_The two ambulances pealed into the car park and skidded to a stop. McGee left Ziva and ran to bring the paramedics over to the loading bay where Tony and Willow both lay, updating them on the conditions of the two patients._

_Gibbs felt firm hands pull him away from Willow as two of the four paramedics began to work on Willow, calling things out to one another. Gibbs ran his fingers through Willow's hair, knowing that he needed to keep out of the way but at the same time wanting to stay close to her. He didn't understand any of the medical jargon that was being yelled and wished Ducky was there to translate for him._

_Then, frighteningly, he knew what they were saying._

" _Damn, she just stopped breathing… bag her. Come on kid…"_

"… _pulse rates deteriorating… we're losing her."_

" _Administering five milligrams of adrenaline…"_

" _She's stabilizing… Sir, are you coming with us?"_

_Gibbs nodded and got to his feet as the two paramedics loaded Willow quickly onto a stretcher, one of them still holding the bag and mask over Willow's mouth, squeezing the bag evenly and regularly. Not far away, the paramedics were doing the same for Tony, one of them straddling the NCIS agent in order to continue doing compressions._

" _McGee, stay here until the others get here," Gibbs ordered as he left, knowing in his gut that Ziva would ride to the hospital with Tony. Gibbs didn't like the idea of leaving McGee there alone but he wasn't in the mood to argue with Ziva and he knew that the other team wouldn't be that far away._

" _Got it, Boss," McGee replied. Gibbs nodded his thanks at the junior field agent before getting onto the ambulance with Willow. The doors slammed shut and the ambulance sped off, following the one carrying Tony towards the nearest hospital, which, fortunately, happened to be Bethesda._

_It was a fifteen-minute ride and Gibbs was relieved when they arrived at the hospital. Willow condition had remained unstable and her heart was struggling. Gibbs was certain that if the ride had taken much longer, Willow wouldn't have made it._

_As it was, Willow had been rushed into the OR theater immediately and Gibbs had found Ziva, near hysterical, in the corridor, covered in Tony's blood like he was in Willow's. From what he'd discovered, Tony had had to be shocked during the drive to the hospital and Ziva had watched on in horror as her partner's body had jerked reflexively as the shock had been administered. Thankfully it had only required one shock to get Tony's heart beating in a regular rhythm again but had still unnerved Ziva._

_Obviously the news of the shooting had spread at NCIS, because not long after Gibbs and Ziva had arrived with Willow and Tony, Ducky, Abby and Palmer had arrived. Ducky had gone straight to the nurse's station, introducing himself as Tony's doctor and asking if he could be of any assistance. He had quickly been taken through the same doors that Willow, and Tony before her, had been rushed through. Abby had clung to Gibbs as they waited. Not that long afterwards McGee had arrived and the long wait had begun._

NCIS/BtVS

Gibbs was drawn from his reflections by the arrival of a doctor. It hadn't been the first doctor to walk in but they had been working on other patients and had called for other families.

"Willow Rosenberg's family," the doctor called. Gibbs quickly got up and the rest of the team surrounded him.

"Jethro Gibbs, I'm Willow's father, how is she?" Gibbs frantically asked. The doctor nodded calmingly and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ducky approach from through the double doors.

"I'm Doctor Lucas but you can call me Glen, Mr. Gibbs. Your daughter is very lucky. The first bullet was a through-and-through of her abdomen. It did not hit any major internal organs and made a clean exit through her back without interfering with her spine. Unfortunately, the bullet did hit some major blood vessels. We've repaired the damage and we've administered a blood transfusion to try and stabilize her blood pressure. Her respirations have improved, although she'll probably need an oxygen mask for the next few days until she's a little stronger. The second bullet wound in her shoulder was less problematic for us and we were able to retrieve the bullet from where it had lodged in Willow's collarbone. Fortunately it's not caused much damage to her shoulder and the surrounding muscle and it missed her major blood vessels in her arm. Given time and maybe a little physiotherapy, it will mend. We have hopes that, given the prompt treatment she received and her young age, she will heal and make a full recovery.

"What about Tony?" Gibbs asked. The doctor looked at them apologetically.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't on the team working on Mr. DiNozzo. I can't tell you much."

"That's quite all right, Dr. Lucas. I can fill them in about Tony's condition." Ducky smiled at his fellow doctor. Dr. Lucas nodded.

"Alright then, Mr. Gibbs. I'll have a nurse come out and tell you when we've got Willow stabilized in a room."

"Right." Gibbs nodded before turning to Ducky. Inside he felt like jumping up and down but he needed to hear about Tony's condition first.

"Well, I think I can safely say that Tony used up another of his nine lives today," Ducky began.

"How many does he have left now?" Tim asked Palmer curiously. The ME's assistant shrugged, having lost count.

"Yes, well, he was lucky in that none of the bullets that Tony was hit with remained within his body. It appears that two of the three shots Tony received were caused by bullets that went on to hit Willow."

"How bad, Duck?" Gibbs asked.

Ducky sighed. "It's not good, Jethro, The most serious injury Tony sustained was a shot to his chest. Like Willow, none of his vital organs were directly hit but his blood loss was still significant. He has another serious wound in his abdominal region. The bullet grazed past Tony's liver and caused a great deal of internal bleeding, which was eventually stopped and the damage repaired. The third shot was the most minor, a graze to his arm. It has been stitched up. Like Willow, Tony is receiving a blood transfusion and his blood pressure and his oxygen levels are being constantly monitored. He is very lucky, Jethro. Another inch or so in any direction and he would have died before help could have arrived."

Gibbs nodded, feeling sick. He'd come perilously close to losing both Willow and Tony and it left him feeling drained. He had no idea what he would do if he lost one of them… Tony was like his son and Willow was his baby girl, the one who had practically come back from the dead to reenter his life. There would be no amount of bourbon that would be able to take the pain of that loss away, especially if both of the pair had died. Losing Shannon and Kelly sixteen years ago had pushed him to the edge, losing another child, biological or otherwise, would send him plummeting over the precipice and Gibbs knew that if he went over there would be no chance of him ever climbing back.

Instinctively knowing that Abby was beside him, Gibbs pulled her into an embrace, which she returned, hugging him tightly and burying her face in his jacket. He shot a look up at the roof, imagining that he could see through the ceiling, right up to heaven, if such a place existed. He prayed, at that moment, to everyone he knew who had died. He prayed to his mother and Shannon, to Kelly, to Kate and to Jenny, that they would watch over Tony and Willow and protect them and do everything they could to prevent either of the pair succumbing to their injuries and dying.

In his gut, Gibbs knew that it was not the time for either of them to leave him on Earth.


	43. Chapter 42: 21st September, 2007

Willow inwardly frowned as she slowly began to be aware of things once again. Her body ached, especially her shoulder, back and stomach, but it was a numb sort of pain. Her head felt fuzzy and as well as being sore, her entire body felt very heavy, as if it were made of lead. She tried to move but she could only twitch one of her fingers and even that took a great deal of effort on her part.

The more time that passed, the more Willow found herself becoming aware what was happening around her, the heavy smell of disinfectant, the feel of blankets beneath her hands, and the sound of a persistent beeping. Thoughts struggled through her sluggish mind, trying to determine where she was and if she was in danger. Memories slowly began drifting back, standing on the loading bay with Tony, the gun fight, Chekovic firing his gun, her stomach and shoulder feeling like they were on fire, Tony collapsing, dropping to her knees and her father racing towards her, screaming her name, the blood… so much blood on her shirt and all over Tony, Gibbs holding her as the world faded to gray, darkening rapidly until there had been nothing but black, painless, welcoming oblivion.

Willow's heart jumped violently as she realized what had happened… she'd been shot, probably hit by bullets that had already passed through Tony's body. She figured that she was in hospital, going from the strong smell of antiseptic and from the beeping, which Willow figured was a heart monitor.

She could feel something against her hand. It was warm, and it took Willow a moment to realize that it was a hand. Someone was there holding her hand. Concentrating, Willow focused on trying to move that hand, alerting whoever it was that was holding her hand that she was conscious (although Willow had tried, her eyelids were simply to heavy for her to open at that time.) Willow's fingers eventually moved, following her brain's commands sluggishly. She felt the hand move in response.

"Willow, come on, wake up, that's it," a gruff voice encouraged. Willow instantly recognized the voice as her father's and she redoubled her efforts of trying to open her eyes. It took far more effort than Willow would have liked but eventually she managed to lift her eyelids, involuntarily flinching away as light hit her eyes before they had time to adjust. She blinked slowly a couple of times before the world came into focus.

She was lying in a hospital bed, gazing up at the white ceiling. To one side of her was a collection of monitors and an IV stand, with a bag attached, and a line running down to a needle inserted in the back of her left hand. On the other side was a single chair, occupied by Gibbs, his face looking deeply concerned as he looked at her. Deep shadows lingered beneath her father's eyes, as if had hadn't been sleeping recently.

"Hey," he greeted. "It's okay, we got you out, shh," he said soothingly. Willow blinked, too tired to really do much else.

"You're okay Willow," Gibbs continued, taking her hand in both of his. Willow could feel the roughness of his hands on her skin and she gave him a weak smile.

"That's it," Gibbs smiled in response. "You just rest, you're okay, go back to sleep."

Willow let her eyelids drop again and decided that Gibbs had the right idea. Following his orders, she let herself drift off in to oblivion.

NCIS/BtVS

The next time Willow woke up, everything felt much less fuzzy and her entire body felt lighter and more normal, although she did still feel rather weak and helpless. Gibbs was still sitting beside her, although he was wearing different clothes

"Hey, Willow. Are you feeling a bit more awake today?" Gibbs asked as Willow opened her eyes. Willow hesitated before nodding. It was true; keeping her eyes open required much less effort than it had before.

"That's good. They lowered the amount of pain medication you were on. Before you were getting more and they think that it was a bit strong for you and that's why you couldn't wake up," Gibbs explained. Willow nodded once again before opening her mouth.

"Tony?" she croaked questioningly. She rather hoped the older man was alright. There had been so much blood when he'd collapsed. She'd come to like him and he was Xander's cousin after all.

Gibbs nodded. "He's still unconscious and it was touch and go for awhile, but Ducky thinks that he'll pull through. He's tough."

"How long?" Willow managed to whisper. It wasn't the clearest of sentences but Gibbs understood what she was saying.

"You've been out for four days," Gibbs replied. Willow paled, realizing that she'd missed a really important test at school.

"The test…" she began and started to struggle. Gibbs was on his feet in moments, carding his fingers through her hair comfortingly.

"Shh, Willow, calm down. You'll pull stitches if you move too much. McGee called your school and told them what happened. They're fine for you to do the test on your first day back," Gibbs told her. Willow slumped back against the pillows and Gibbs cupped her cheek in his hand.

"You just concentrate on getting better," he told her seriously. Willow brought her hand without the IV line up and touched his arm, surprised to feel that she had a nasal cannula. She hadn't even noticed the plastic tubing earlier. Buffy would be furious if she knew how unaware of her surroundings Willow was. Buffy often had told Xander and Willow to be alert and aware of your surroundings because you never knew who… or what was out there… even in hospitals.

"Okay," she softly said to her father. Gibbs nodded and moved to sit down, though a question from the doorway stopped him in his tracks.

"Gibbs, how's Willow doing?" Abby asked as she entered the room.

Gibbs smiled. "Ask her yourself, Abs," he told the forensic expert. Abby squealed and raced across the room to Willow's bedside, having seen that Willow was awake.

"Willow, oh my gosh, we were so worried about you two, and then you and Tony both got shot, and you'd both been beaten up and whipped as well and you were unconscious for ages, and I was still worried about you even though Ducky said that it was normal that you would sleep lots after going through that. How do you feel?" Abby babbled.

Willow paused. "A bit achy, but not too bad," she replied honestly.

Abby beamed. "That's good," she told Willow, "I've had to stay at work with Palmer and Ducky, but we come in every night after we finish. Palmer and Ducky are in with Tony now checking how he is. Ziva and McGee are there too. Ducky will be coming to see you soon though so he can see how you are. He'll be happy to see you awake."

"Why don't you go and tell him, Abs?" Gibbs suggested, not knowing how long Willow's flagging strength would last. Willow shot her father a grateful look as Abby scurried out, her boots making a thunking noise on the floor as she hurried away.

"You haven't stayed with Tony?" Willow asked curiously.

"Ziva's stayed with him constantly and I didn't want you to be alone. I've visited him a few times when Abby and McGee have been with you but other than that, I haven't. He'll understand."

"Haven't you been home, you know, slept or anything?' Willow asked.

"No, he has not, against my advice," Ducky answered as he bustled in, followed by Palmer, McGee and Abby.

"Hi, Ducky," Willow greeted as Gibbs turned and glared at his best friend.

"Willow, it's good to see you conscious. How do you feel?"

"Okay, a bit sore and achy and really tired but other than that, okay."

"That's good, you are recovering quite well," Ducky examined the folder at the end of Willow's bed.

"How's Tony?" she asked Tim, since she figured he'd just come from the senior field agent's room. McGee smiled.

"He's still unconscious," he replied, "but there's no sign of infection and his body is showing signs of healing, so his doctor is really quite happy with how he's recovering."

Willow nodded, noticing Ducky excuse himself and slip from the room but not really minding. He was a busy man after all, between helping look after Tony, making sure her father, Ziva and Tim all kept their strength up, and having to go to work during the day. She let herself relax against the pillow as Abby, McGee and Palmer settled themselves into a couple of chairs that Willow hadn't noticed before. Willow blinked, fighting the urge to drift back off to sleep, but then a sudden frightening thought came to her and she suddenly felt very awake.

"Hang on… I've been out for four days and I was missing for… how long before that?"

"Two days," Abby replied, "except it felt like a lot longer."

"You called my school… I don't suppose you called my friends in Sunnydale too and told them what was going on?"

"No," McGee replied. Gibbs, however, caught on to Willow's chain of thought.

"How many check-ins have you missed?" he asked.

"Huh?" asked Abby, not understanding what the issue was.

"I've missed two check-ins and I'm guessing since you haven't called them yet to tell them I'd been kidnapped or was in hospital but unconscious or that I was sick and couldn't make it to the phone or something, they would have assumed that I'd been turned and had killed you all."

Abby clapped her hands over her mouth.

"What's that going to mean for you?" Gibbs asked, ignoring Abby's reaction.

"A lengthy long-distance phone call and probably some sort of evidence that I am in fact, injured. Also, Buffy, Giles, Xander, Angel… all of them are going to be rather annoyed at you for not telling them. I think Angel and Buffy would have kind of wanted to help bring Chekovic down… not to mention Xander. I know that they don't get along most of the time but I could imagine Angel and Xander working well together if it meant they got to spent time with him." Willow shuddered, both at the memory of what Chekovic had done to her and Tony and the things he had ordered others to do to them and at the thought of Angel teaching Xander the finer point of torture… using Chekovic as a model

"It wouldn't be that bad, would it?" Abby asked. "I mean, Angel has a soul and Xander… well, he's Tony's cousin. Surely he's not that bad."

Willow shook her head. "Abby, Angel hasn't always been souled. In the 1800s, he was one of the most well-known vampires in the world. He is a master vampire. He knows more about torture than anyone else I know and that probably includes you guys and Ziva as well. If someone tries to hurt a friend of his, Angel may well draw on these memories. He is still very dangerous. You do not want to get on his wrong side. As for Xander… If you look up loyal in the dictionary, there is Xander's picture beside it. He would be so angry about Tony and me getting hurt that he'd put aside his whole humans good/demons bad thing and he'd help Angel… and Giles has a pretty dark past and a strong sense of loyalty to the rest of the Scoobies, so he'd be in on it as well."

"Probably a good thing that Checkovic's dead then," McGee observed and Willow couldn't help but agree. She wasn't a vengeful person and she wouldn't wish an angered Angel and Xander on anyone, even without including Giles and Buffy.

"How do you think we should tell them that you are still alive?" Gibbs asked, not particularly wanting to have the entire Scooby Gang on his doorstep.

"Send a copy of your medical records?" Abby suggested.

Willow chewed her lip, before shaking her head. "Maybe, but that's not really necessary. I imagine that I have stitches and lots of bandages where I got hit?"

"Yeah, you do… why?" McGee asked.

"Give me a couple of days so I can sit up and take a photo using the camera on a phone of me with my stomach all bandaged up and holding a cross… or something and we'll send it. That will also prove to them that, although I am injured, I'm not dying… or already dead… or undead. Until then they're just going to have to take my word for it that I am not a vampire."

Gibbs nodded. He didn't like it but he couldn't see another option. He could see the Sunnydale group's point of view and was angry with himself that he hadn't thought to contact them when Willow and Tony had first been taken. He'd seen how loyal that group was, just as loyal as his own team, and if the roles were reversed, Gibbs would have been pissed.

At that point, Gibbs realized that Willow was very much like a liaison officer. Willow was the Gibbs extended family's liaison officer to the Scooby Gang, like Ziva was the clan's liaison officer to Mossad (or at least she had been). Both groups had an interest in the liaison and if the liaison got injured because of one team, then that team was responsible for informing the other.

"I'll call them soon," Gibbs promised as Ducky reentered with Willow's doctor, who set about examining her thoroughly, having not had the opportunity to check her over while she was conscious. Willow answered his questions clearly and the doctor nodded, clearly pleased with her progress.

"She's going well, I'll be back later," he told Gibbs, making a note on Willow's file before he hurried out to continue his rounds. Willow blinked wearily, feeling her tiredness catch up with her. Seeing this, Ducky ushered the others out, leaving Gibbs and Willow alone. Running her hand, Gibbs watched on as Willow quickly and quietly dozed off to sleep, her chest rising and falling evenly as she slept. Satisfied that she wasn't going to wake up any time soon, Gibbs got out his phone and went through his address book until he found the number for Giles. He took a deep breath and, looking over his shoulder, hit the call button as he walked out of Willow's hospital room.

This was one phone call that he was not looking forward to making.

NCIS/BtVS

It was the next day when McGee hurried into the room, announcing to Gibbs and Willow that Tony was awake. Willow saw the conflict on her father's face as he heard the news, obviously wanting to go and check on Tony, but at the same time not wanting to leave Willow.

"Go," she told him, putting her resolve face on. It was easier to use on Gibbs than it was on Chekovic, Willow noticed as Gibbs nodded, and left the room.

"Stay here with Willow," he told McGee as he left. Willow smiled. Her resolve face was also more effective on Gibbs, it seemed.

"How is he?" she asked McGee as the young agent sat down

"Tony? He's good, he asked about you. Ziva told him that you were conscious and recovering well. He was relieved about that. He didn't want to be the one that let Gibbs' daughter get killed."

"It wasn't Tony's fault that Chekovic and his gang grabbed us, he tried to protect me," Willow defended.

McGee shook his head. "I know that and Gibbs knows that but Tony blames himself for these kind of things, it's the kind of person he is. Gibbs will probably be telling him that he doesn't blame him right now… after giving Tony a head slap."

"Oh," Willow nodded in understanding. While it was true that Willow was certain that if their roles were reversed she would be exactly the same way, she was glad that her father held no blame towards Tony.

"What happened to Chekovic anyway? I know he's dead but…?" she asked.

"He got shot and died instantaneously," McGee explained. Willow was quite relieved, although she felt horrible about it afterwards. Chekovic was human and Willow had sworn to protect the lives of all humans quite soon after she'd found out about the true nature of the Sunnydale nightlife. It included not so nice people like Chekovic and his gang members, regardless of what they had done in the past. Still, she reasoned, Gibbs, McGee and Ziva wouldn't have shot him unless it was their only option, unless it was the only way of making sure that they, Willow and Tony avoided being hurt any more.

Willow sighed. She was just going to have to deal with it. Guns, violence amongst humans and shootings were a part of her life now, just like vampires, stakings and the supernatural had been part of her life before her move to D.C.

It was just the way things were and she couldn't do a thing to stop it.

NCIS/BtVS

Willow leaned forward eagerly in her wheelchair as she was wheeled into Tony's room, eager to see the agent that had stayed by her and reassured her throughout the ordeal.

It had taken many hours of wrangling, pleading, and copious use of her resolve face to persuade Gibbs to let her visit. She and Tony were on the same floor of the hospital but Gibbs was concerned that the trip would be far too tiring for Willow. Eventually though, Willow got her way, getting Gibbs, Ducky, and her doctor to agree that she wouldn't do much damage to herself by going for a short visit to see Tony, and so Willow was carefully put in a wheelchair, since she wasn't up to walking that far yet. She'd winced as the position made her stomach wound hurt and pulled slightly on her stiches and her back throbbed when she leaned back in the chair, but she soon found a comfortable position. Her right arm was put in a sling to ease the amount of stress she was putting on her shoulder wound and a blanket was draped over her to keep her warm.

Willow was thrilled to see that Tony's eyes open when she was wheeled in.

"Tony, you've got a visitor," Abby announced from where she stood by his bed. Willow grinned at Abby and Ziva, who she had rarely seen since the loading bay incident.

The Israeli nodded in greeting. "Willow."

"Hey, Ziva, is he behaving?"

"Hey, I'm right here," Tony protested weakly. Willow smiled, although she didn't dare try and giggle, since she was certain that it would hurt.

"Sorry Tony, how do you feel?" Willow could tell that Tony had been about to say fine before Gibbs leaned over and swatted the back of Tony's head, although Willow noticed that Gibbs used far less force than he normally did.

"I've been better," he conceded. "What about you?"

"Getting better, still a bit sore, but it's improving and not nearly as fuzzy as I was before."

"We've decided that Willow reacts the opposite way to you to painkillers. They make you hyper and they make her sleepy… really sleepy." McGee grinned. Ziva let out a laugh and Willow felt her cheeks go red.

"Don't worry about it, kid. Trust me, if you ever see me on painkillers, which is kind of likely, since Gibbs makes me stay at his house when I am on strong painkillers, you'll know that being sleepy is a good thing," Tony reassured her in a low voice. Willow grinned at the comment.

"So, what brings you to a humble abode, admiring the scenery and thought you'd pop in?" Tony asked, noticing that Abby, Ducky and McGee had slipped out of the room. Ziva, however, stayed and Tony appreciated it. With Gibbs looking after Willow, he'd been leaning on Ziva to keep his spirits up. She had done well and Tony knew that he was falling even deeper in love with the former assassin.

"Well, not really. I wanted to say thank you," Willow told him, carefully lifting her hand, the one with her IV line in it, and resting it on Tony's bed next to his own hand. "Thank you for looking after me and making sure I didn't freak out and get too scared. I knew that you were there for me, Tony, and that was why I was able to get through it. If you weren't there with me… there's no way I would have made it out alive. "

Tony didn't know what to say to that. He moved his hand as much as he could and held Willow's small hand in his own; however, it was when Gibbs put his hand on Tony's shoulder that he looked up from Willow to her father.

"Thanks for watching her six, Tony. I appreciate it," Gibbs told Tony and Tony saw how much he meant it, the sincerity in his boss's voice, the way the words seemed to catch in Gibbs' throat and the look on the older man's face. Tony knew that he wasn't looking at the team leader, the federal agent, or the Marine. He was looking at the father, the husband, the man that had lost his wife and his daughter in brutal circumstances and had just nearly lost his other daughter too in a similar situation.

"No problem, boss. Any time you need me at Willow's six, I'm there," Tony promised, meaning every word he said.


	44. Chapter 43: 22nd Febuary, 2008

Leroy Jethro Gibbs sat at his desk, watching the banter between the members of the team with a wry smile on his face. Tony had long since returned to work following his shooting by Chekovic and his thugs and with his return, Tony had brought back his usual joking around and movie quotes. Although he had to pretend otherwise – he did have a reputation after all – Gibbs rather liked it. His team needed to be brightened up every now and then… it was essential, given the dark matter of their cases.

Willow too had recovered from the shooting. She carried scars from those fateful few days, both physical and psychological. Luckily, Willow's physical scars were in places that Willow didn't usually expose, even during summertime, and Gibbs himself hadn't seen them since Willow had stopped needing help with the bandaging on her back from where she had been whipped but Gibbs knew they were still there and he could tell that Willow was self-conscious about it. Ziva, however, had stepped in, sharing her own experiences of torture, especially most recently in Somalia, and Gibbs could see the positive effect Ziva's support had done to Willow's confidence following her release from hospital. Sure, things had been a little rocky for a while. Willow had experienced numerous nightmares in the weeks that followed the attack but slowly the nightmares had become less frequent and things had returned to normal… or at least as normal as things got for Willow. Gibbs smiled as he remembered the stories Willow had told him about life in Sunnydale, both her own recollections of past slaying shenanigans and situations that Xander and the others had told her about since she had left. Gibbs knew that he would never be able to say that he was sorry for pulling Willow away from the Hellmouth. As dangerous as Washington D.C. was, Sunnydale was far worse. Although Willow had told him a little, there had been a great deal that she'd obviously kept to herself and Gibbs had gotten the feeling that something big was brewing in Sunnydale. He'd tried to push Willow for details, wondering if there was anything he could do to help, but Willow had shaken her head, murmuring something about politics. Confused and slightly suspicious, Gibbs had let the subject drop, thinking instead about what Willow had told him.

Willow had smiled ruefully as she had told him about what had happened in Sunnydale in the weeks that had immediately followed the Scoobies finding out about the kidnapping and shooting and once she'd told him, Gibbs had felt a little guilty for not giving the group the opportunity to get revenge on Chekovic like Gibbs had had. Buffy and Angel had, apparently, become rather ruthless. Xander had relayed the story of a couple of instances when Angel had physically ripped the heads of several fledglings clean off with his bare hands and Buffy had slain with a determination that she only showed when she was well and truly pissed off about something. Even the usually calm and collected Giles had been in a bad mood, echoing his former life as Ripper. Oz had transformed and had absolutely trashed the cage in the library and Cordelia had slapped Harmony on the face when she'd overheard the blonde making a nasty comment about Willow. Willow had giggled as she'd talked about the proud tone in Xander's voice as he'd described his girlfriend's actions and Gibbs had fought the urge to smile. Xander himself had thrown himself into his physical training and helping out patrol, venting his frustrations on unsuspecting fledglings. Buffy had told Willow about how Xander had pummelled a vampire fledging into the ground with his bare hands before the teenager had finished the vampire off. Willow had been relieved to report, though, that the next time she spoke to the Scoobies a few days later, they had calmed down a little and eventually gone back to normal.

Gibbs knew that the only thing that had prevented some (if not all) of the Scoobies from coming up to D.C. and tearing him a new one for not telling them that Willow had been kidnapped and shot, and for letting her get kidnapped and shot because of his job, was whatever trouble that was brewing in Sunnydale. He wasn't sure if he should be grateful or worried.

As the team leader mused thoughtfully McGee looked over his shoulder at Gibbs and gave a nervous grin. Gibbs chuckled to himself, knowing what had McGee so nervous. Ever since the shooting, Ziva had rarely been far from Tony's side and Gibbs knew that Rule 12 was dangerously close to being breeched, if it wasn't already. However, he couldn't bring himself to act on it. He'd been watching Tony and Ziva gaze soppily across the bullpen at each other for quite a few years now and frankly he thought it was about time that the pair finally grew their backbones and just went and got together, to hell with the rules. Listening to your gut was important, even when it wasn't involved in a case.

Gibbs went back to his paperwork, his gaze falling to and lingering on the two wooden photo frames that had pride of place on his desk, a Christmas present from Willow, who had made them by hand, using the equipment in Gibbs' basement. They were matching and Willow had painted the word family on top of each one. One of them had a picture of Gibbs and Willow in it, taken by Abby one evening. Gibbs had his arm around Willow protectively and they were both laughing at something. It was a very natural shot and it was one of Gibbs' favorites. The other frame featured a photo of the entire team, Gibbs, Tony, Ziva, Tim, Ducky, Abby, Palmer and Willow, taken at Thanksgiving. His eyes lingered on the way Ziva and Tony were standing, with Ziva leaning against Tony's chest comfortably while Tony smiled happily, his hand on her shoulder. Gibbs also smiled to himself when his gaze flickered over at where Tim stood in the photo, beside Abby, their hands touching discreetly.

Gibbs tapped at the keys of his computer, deep in thought. Willow would be turning seventeen shortly… seventeen years since Shannon and Kelly had been so brutally ripped from his life. Usually even the thought of the anniversary of his wife and daughter's death made Gibbs sullen and more of a bastard than he was normally, his team learning to be extra cautious in the last few days of February and into early March. This year, although it was painful that Shannon and Kelly wouldn't have the opportunity to see the young woman Willow had grown into, the pain he was feeling seemed less fresh and raw than it had in previous years. Maybe having Willow around had eased the loneliness Gibbs had carried in his heart over the years, despite the attempts of his three ex-wives. He didn't know what exactly had caused it but he didn't feel as horrid as he had in previous years. He was certain Tony, Abby and Ducky at least, had noticed the difference in how he was behaving in the weeks leading up to the twenty-eighth compared to previous years but Gibbs wasn't sure if McGee and Ziva had picked up on it as well.

So much had changed since Willow had re-entered his life nine months before. She had left his life as a symbol of innocence, a victim of the drug war, having not even had the chance of drawing breath independently, simply a bump in her mother's stomach, a little shape on the ultrasound picture that he and Shannon had excitedly shown Kelly. She had returned to Gibbs' life as a sixteen-year-old girl, baring a strong resemblance to her mother, a habit of babbling when she was nervous, and possessing personal experience in the hunting and killing of vampires and assorted other demons.

Gibbs and all of his team, Abby, Palmer and Ducky included, had all had lessons with Willow about the supernatural. Ziva had proven to be the most skilled of the group, which had been of no surprise to anyone, but Palmer had been surprisingly good with the crossbow they had all had turns shooting, practicing aiming directly at the heart. The entire team now carried stakes and holy water in their bags, in addition to the knives they carried at all times. Palmer and Abby had even taken to carrying a pencil tucked into their sock as an emergency stake, should they ever need it… a move which Willow and Gibbs had both approved of (Willow had carried a pencil tucked in her sock almost every day ever since she'd found out the truth about the supernatural).

Willow herself had come a long way since she'd started hand to hand combat lessons with Ziva. Gibbs had watched them train numerous times and had been quietly surprised at how good Willow actually was at hand-to-hand combat. She was learning quickly and although Gibbs knew that she wound never be on the same level as Ziva (Ziva had been training since early childhood and nothing could make up for that), Gibbs was confident that Willow would be able to get herself out of most situations without getting hurt.

Gibbs had taken Willow to the shooting range a few times since her kidnapping… should the worse happen and there be a repeat of the Chekovic situation. Willow had been hesitant but once Gibbs had reassured her that he had no expectations of her ever actually having to shoot a gun in a real life situation, Willow had allowed herself to relax. Gibbs wasn't sure whether or not it was because shooting a gun was similar to firing a crossbow (but at the same time completely different) but Willow had been much more accurate than he had expected. Both Fornell and Mike Franks put it down to genetics… with Gibbs as a father, of course Willow was going to be able to shoot straight with an accuracy that would be lethal, should Willow ever actually shoot at someone. Gibbs smiled as he thought of the day that Mike had met Willow. The gruff former NCIS agent had found it quite amusing that Gibbs, who famously hated technology, had fathered a child that had computer skills that would probably have excelled McGee's when he was the same age. Tobias Fornell had gone a step further, telling Willow if she ever wanted a job to give him a call, and he'd get her into the FBI. Willow had blushed and stammered, while Gibbs had just glared at the FBI agent.

"What?" Fornell had asked. "If NCIS isn't going to offer, why can't I?"

"She's only in high school," Gibbs had growled. "At least wait until she's graduated or she's finished college."

"I'm just getting in first before the think tanks, or the CIA, hear about her. The kid is seriously good with computers, is smart and can shoot straight. That's a big deal these days."

Gibbs had grumbled about that and little more had been said about it. Ironically it had turned out that Willow did start working for Fornell… as a babysitter for his daughter Emily when he was kept busy with his cases. It was through Tobias and Emily that Willow met Dianne, her former stepmother. Gibbs still chuckled to himself as he recalled the day when those two had met. Willow had kept her thoughts to herself until they'd gotten home but then she had sent him a rather pointed look which clearly said 'what the hell were you thinking?'

It was probably a good thing that Willow hadn't been around for the procession of stepmothers that would have come into her life and then left again. It might have been different if Willow had been there, a permanent reminder of Shannon in the house, one that could speak her mind about the women that Gibbs had used to try and replace her mother with. On the other hand, Gibbs might have thought that Willow needed a maternal figure in her life had she been living with him when she was growing up, leading to Gibbs being more persistent with his wives, and putting more of an effort in to try and make the marriages last, however Gibbs knew it was wrong and pointless to dwell on what-ifs but he couldn't stop himself from doing so.

Willow had grown up living in hell on earth. She had survived and that was all that mattered. Soon Willow would be seventeen years old and after that, she faced the final push to the end of her school years. Gibbs didn't know what Willow had planned for her future following graduation but he was sure it was going to be interesting.


	45. Epilogue: 4th September and 25th December, 2013

**4** **th** **September 2013**

Leroy Jethro Gibbs hung up the phone on his desk, getting to his feet quickly and slinging his bag over his shoulder, collecting his badge and his gun from his top drawer.

"Gear up, we've got a dead Marine," he told his assembled team. Tony, McGee and Ziva were on their feet already, having preempted what Gibbs was about to say. Together the team moved to the elevator, their movements so practiced they were virtually in sync with one another, having worked together as a team for such a long time.

There had been arguments and short-term split-ups, but then every family had those. Gibbs' team were no different but as a whole they existed as one big, happy family… in most ways even more so than they had been when Willow had first come to D.C to live with Gibbs… six years before.

Willow was twenty-two years old now and although she'd lived away from home for her college years (much to Ducky's excitement, Willow had gone to Oxford with a full scholarship), she still frequently called or visited D.C. from Sunnydale, where she had moved to after graduating.

It had been Willow that had been behind changing the team's… the family's dynamic. It has been Willow who had encouraged Tony to tell Ziva about how he felt about her, while at the same time reassuring Ziva about her own feelings about Tony. It had been a highly effective maneuver, performed with military-style accuracy, which had proven to be more successful than attempts by Tim, Abby and Ducky to get Tony and Ziva to realize that they were destined for one another. Even Gibbs had approved of the match, admitting that he was rather sick of watching Tony and Ziva stare at each other across the bullpen. Even though it had meant that rule twelve had been thrown out of the proverbial window, Gibbs had been willing to put aside his past experiences with Jenny Shepard and give his approval to Tony and Ziva's relationship. He'd seen how devastated Ziva had been when Tony had been shot by Chekovic protecting Willow and had realized that life was too damn short to waste time, especially when the love of your life sat in the desk opposite you at work.

Willow's efforts had been rewarded when Ziva had asked her to be a bridesmaid at her and Tony's wedding. Willow had happily accepted, joining Abby, Tim and Palmer in Tony and Ziva's wedding party. Gibbs fondly remembered the look of panic that had crossed Palmer's face when Abby had told him that he had to dance with Willow at the reception. The assistant medical examiner had almost fainted at the prospect of having his arms around Gibbs' daughter.

Of course, it was only because of Vance's opinion of the team that Tony and Ziva had been allowed to continue to work on Gibbs' team together. Vance trusted that Gibbs would take action if he thought that the relationship jeopardized any of their cases. Vance's leniency might have stemmed from the fact that Gibbs, McGee, Tony and Ziva all threatened to quit NCIS if Vance didn't give Tony and Ziva a chance and Ziva privately suspected that her father might have made a phone call of his own to Vance regarding the matter too, but it was of little consequence. The team were as professional as ever and their case clearance rate had remained at its customary high level.

Gibbs' thoughts turned to Willow. He hadn't seen her in a few months, as it seemed that she was a little busy in Sunnydale with things there and with her work. Willow had taken up designing and selling computer programs and had even sold a couple of security programs to the US military. She was doing quite well for herself, as Gibbs understood it, and it left her plenty of time for her… commitments in Sunnydale. Gibbs and his team too had been busy with cases and the much-loathed paperwork that accompanied them.

Once she'd graduated high school, at top of her class much to Gibbs' pride, Willow had headed off to Oxford and had split her holidays between Gibbs and the team in D.C. and her friends in Sunnydale, but she'd frequently been in contact. Gibbs had found himself to be oddly content with the situation and, knowing that through her self-defense training (which Willow had done even when she'd been in England), she could look after herself.

Of course, that hadn't prevented the feeling of heart-stopping panic Gibbs had experienced when he'd seen the news bulletins announcing that the town of Sunnydale, California, had collapsed into a giant sinkhole, leaving nothing remaining of the town that Willow had grown up in except for a giant crater.

It hadn't been the first time that Gibbs had heard rather unsettling news about Sunnydale while Willow was visiting on the TV. Willow's school graduation had been held a week before the Sunnydale high school graduation and Willow had flown down to L.A. two days beforehand so that she could see her friends graduate. Gibbs had approved of the trip, with the plan being that, after graduation, Willow and Xander would roadtrip together across the country back to Washington D.C. Gibbs had subconsciously accepted that Willow would probably participate in some form of slaying while she was in Sunnydale but he hadn't been prepared for the news that the school had blown up during the graduation ceremony (a ruptured gas pipe the apparent cause). It had been a short hour later when Willow had called. Later Gibbs had learned that the Mayor of Sunnydale was actually a demon with plans to ascend. This involved him transforming into a giant snake and the Scoobies had not only used some bombs under the school to destroy the demonic snake, probably saving the world (although they destroyed the school in the process), but they had also coordinated the entire graduating class into a sort of anti-vampire army with minimal casualties. Gibbs didn't know whether to be angry with Willow for not telling him about the plan and the high-risk situation she was going to be in or proud of the achievements of not only Willow, but of the rest of her friends in Sunnydale. That pride, however, had not been enough to stop Gibbs from making a phone call to the ops center in LA. Hetty had been most obliging and for the rest of her stay in Sunnydale, Willow had Callen and Sam Hanna as a protection detail… which had turned out to be a good thing, since Xander's car decided to die before he and Willow even got to L.A. If Callen and Sam hadn't been there, Gibbs imagined that Willow and Xander would be spending their summer in Oxnard… not what they'd had in mind.

At the time of Sunnydale's vanishing act into a sinkhole, Willow had been staying with Buffy, so Gibbs had immediately tried to call Willow, trying to find out if she had managed by luck to escape or had heeded the warnings and fled town before the ground had opened up beneath it, devouring the town from below. Gibbs could not claim to have stayed calm as a recorded message to him that Willow's phone could not be reached. Tony, Ziva and McGee had seen the look of fear on Gibbs' face… the horror and panic the team leader felt at that exact moment obvious to all who knew him well. Tony had been in the same boat with his aunt, uncle and cousin all also unaccounted for. Gibbs had overheard Tony tearfully explaining to Ziva that it didn't matter if they were horrible parents to Xander or that he hadn't spoken to them in years, let alone seen them, family was still family and nothing got in the way of that.

Gibbs, Tony, Ziva, McGee, Abby, Ducky and Palmer had all waited in the bullpen with bated breath for any news about Willow, Xander, or any of their friends. Even Vance came down the stairs, a look of deep concern on his face. They had all tried calling Willow and Xander's phones, as well as the emergency numbers that Willow had given him and the special hotline set up for those seeking information about loved ones, but the phone went unanswered and the hotline could give no information about them. McGee had reasoned that the cell phone towers had either been destroyed in the destruction of the town or were overloaded, and that was why they couldn't get through. Gibbs had scowled and thrown his phone against the wall, smashing his fourth phone in one day… a new record.

Eventually though, Gibbs' desk phone rang and he quickly answered it. The entire bullpen fell deathly silent. Even all the other teams waited with held breath for news. Gibbs had never been so relieved to hear the sound of Willow's voice, sheepishly apologizing for taking so long to call, informing him that she, Xander, Buffy, and most of their friends had made it out of Sunnydale alive. It was obvious to Gibbs from the pained hitch in Willow's voice that she'd lost friends… and close friends at that, but Gibbs had simply been grateful that Willow had survived the disaster that he suspected was not so much natural but supernatural in origin.

Willow and Xander had visited shortly after that event but in the year since, Gibbs hadn't heard much from Willow, only that she was now living in Cleveland with her friends. She still called frequently, but she had kept what she was up to close to her chest. Gibbs had been curious but he'd respected Willow's privacy enough to not say anything.

Gibbs pulled himself from his deep musing at the sound of his cell phone going off and quickly answered it, pulling over to the side of the street.

"Gibbs," he answered, surprised when he heard the smooth voice of Director Vance coming from the phone.

"Gibbs, its Vance. I want to talk to you about the case. Local law enforcement has already run the fingerprints of the civilian that was found with the Marine. Her file is sealed but I've done some ringing around. She's an agent of an organization known as the IWC. The IWC have been informed and are sending two of their agents to assist in the case. Depending on how well this case goes, NCIS will have these two agents permanently in a consulting roll, which they will also serve for the FBI. They'll be based out of the Navy Yard though," Vance informed Gibbs. Gibbs scowled.

"IWC? Never heard of them."

"I'd heard of them… the Secretary of Defense and the President are aware of them… they've only been operational under the name IWC for just a year now though… but I've been assured that they're sending their best agents. The Secretary of Defense spoke very highly of them, as did the head of the IWC. They won't get in the way of your case," Vance told Gibbs

"They better not," Gibbs said before hanging up. Upon receiving the curious looks from the rest of the team as they drove out onto the road once again, Gibbs sighed and told them what Vance had told him.

NCIS/BtVS

The Marine, identified by his uniform, lay on the ground, half-concealed by bushes, his pale skin intact except for two small wounds on his neck. Tony and Palmer were exchanging grins and Gibbs knew it was only a matter of time before one on them made the inevitable vampire joke (although ever since the team had met Willow, vampire jokes had become much less funny than they had been before). He was accompanied, however, by a girl. Gibbs guessed her to be about a year or two younger than Willow, slightly built, but with the same well-developed muscles that Gibbs had seen on Buffy. The girl had the same wounds as the Marine, although she had appeared to have put up a bit of a struggle.

"What have we got, Ducky?" Gibbs asked. Ducky rolled his eyes.

"As much as the dead like to talk, Jethro, if you are willing to listen, they need time to formulate the words."

"Roughly?" Gibbs asked. Ducky sighed.

"I can tell you that these two died at approximately eleven o'clock last night and that she has defensive wounds. I would suggest, at this early stage, that the couple's assailant attacked him first, killing him quickly, before our Marine had a chance to try and protect himself. Our mysterious lady, however, was not so surprised and put up quite a struggle, judging by the defensive wounds she carries. Our assailant will most likely be a tad bruised at the moment, I would imagine."

Gibbs nodded, getting to his feet and surveying the crime scene. It was a remote piece of parkland with lots of trees and bushes. A jogger, going for their early morning exercise, had been the one to find the bodies and call the police. McGee was interviewing the jogger, while Ziva and Tony sketched and photographed the scene, scouting for any trace of evidence they could send to Abby for analysis.

"I've never heard of this IWC," Gibbs overheard Ziva comment.

"Neither have I," Tony agreed. Gibbs scowled as he thought about the situation. He hated working with other organizations… CIA, Mossad, FBI, CGIS, but he'd never even heard of the IWC. What could that organization have to offer NCIS?

"I wonder if they're anything like the Men in Black and that's why we've never heard of them." Tony smiled and Palmer snorted in amusement. McGee coughed to hide his laughter, having finished interviewing the jogger, while Gibbs and Ducky glared reproachfully at Tony and Jimmy.

"Right… sorry… inappropriate." Tony looked suitably chastised. Gibbs nodded and the team went back to work, hoping to get as much work done before the two IWC people came. Gibbs didn't want IWC to muck up his crime scene.

NCIS/BtVS

About an hour later, a black car parked in behind the autopsy van and two people in suits got out. None of the team noticed as they were busily collecting evidence and doing their assigned jobs. The pair flashed their badges at the police standing at the yellow tape that surrounded the crime scene and were gestured through. They ducked under the tape and walked up the hill towards the crime scene. Tony was the first to notice them and a wide grin broke out on his face.

"No way… I knew it was vampires." He smiled.

"What are you on about, Tony?' McGee asked before he saw the approaching pair.

"Oh," McGee said softly as understanding dawned on his face.

"Gibbs will be rather surprised," Ziva observed with a smile on her face. The pair, both dressed in black suits with black sunglasses on, approached the group. Gibbs, Ducky and Palmer turned as the two strangers stopped walking, having arrived at the crime scene. Palmer's face broke out in a wide grin and Gibbs' jaw slipped open a notch before he could stop it.

"Surprise," Xander Harris greeted.

"Special Agent Gibbs, I am Special Agent Rosenberg and this is my partner, Special Agent Harris, of the IWC," Willow said, holding out her badge with one hand and taking off her sunglasses with the other. She managed to get the whole sentence out before a grin broke out on her face. Gibbs' eyes were fixed on the badges Xander and Willow had. They were near identical to the ones carried by he and the rest of the agents, except the watermark on the ID cards was different and the shield was different, featuring a book and a stake instead of the eagle.

"It was so worth getting Giles to make badges for us." Xander grinned.

"I kind of wish that I had a camera," Willow replied.

"IWC?" McGee asked curiously. Willow turned to face him.

"International Watcher's Council. Xander and I have been appointed as the members of the Washington D.C office, which co-incidentally kind of liaises with NCIS, so you'll be seeing us around… a lot."

"I'm not complaining." Tony grinned.

"So, what have we got? G-Man was kind of vague on the details." Xander asked. Tony, Ziva, Palmer, McGee, Ducky and Gibbs all exchanged glances. Things had just gotten rather interesting for everyone.

BtVS/NCIS

**December 25** **th** **, 2013**

Gibbs smiled as he sat at the head of his dining room table, surrounded by his friends… his family. At the opposite side of the table sat Ducky, who was chattering away to Abby and Tim. Jackson was whispering softly to Palmer and Gibbs was certain that his father was telling the assistant medical examiner all sorts of stories about when Gibbs had been younger. On Gibbs' right sat Tony and Ziva, looking blissfully happy, the only slightly visible baby bump in Ziva's stomach making her appear to glow. As for Tony, Gibbs had never seen his senior field agent so happy. On Gibbs' other side were Willow and Xander, discreetly holding hands under the table.

Gibbs had learned soon after Willow and Xander had taken over one of the NCIS conference rooms to serve as the Washington, D.C. office of the International Watcher's Council that the pair of IWC agents had been dating for a few months. Gibbs could see how much they loved one another and Xander treated Willow like his world revolved around her. Of course, Tony's baby cousin or not, if Xander hurt Willow, then the young man would answer to Gibbs, and Tony, and Tim, and Ziva and Abby and Ducky and Jackson and Palmer, not to mention any of Willow's own friends, who would be angered by any mistreatment on Xander's behalf towards the red head. Xander had commented once that it made for the most frightening shovel speech ever (Gibbs had asked Abby the meaning behind the phrase and then, as a little joke, had invited Xander around to his house to help with some gardening).

Tony had gone a step further, joking that Xander was the bravest person in the world simply because he was dating the daughter of Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Gibbs figured that Tony had a good point; he wasn't the most approachable of men after all.

Regardless of the teasing of Tony and Gibbs, Willow and Xander were completely in love with one another and, Gibbs realized as he looked around the table, that his family, once torn, broken and shattered by the death of Shannon and Kelly, had been healed and was once again happy, content, and, all in all, complete. Gibbs smiled. He rose to his feet, raising his glass in a toast.

"To family," he proclaimed.

Everyone else around the table picked up their glasses of drink, smiling at one another, completely in agreement to what Gibbs was proposing. They were family… not your typical family, yes, but definitely family.

"To family," they echoed, before drinking deeply.

The End


End file.
